关注社会:中国甘肃地震致数百人伤亡

An earthquake in western China knocked down power lines and damaged scores of homes, killing at least 89 people and injuring more than 500, state media and local government said.

中国官方媒体和地方政府表示，发生在中国西部的地震破坏了输电线路，摧毁了几十个家庭，导致至少89人死亡和500多人受伤。

The quake hit near the city of Dingxi in Gansu province. Residents described shaking windows and swinging lights but little structural damage or panic.

地震发生在甘肃省定西市附近。当地居民称，地震造成门窗摇晃和电灯晃动，但基本上没造成结构性毁坏或恐慌。

The government’s earthquake monitoring centre said the initial quake at 7.45am (2345 GMT on Sunday) was magnitude 6.6 and subsequent tremors included a magnitude 5.6. Tremors were felt in the provincial capital of Lanzhou 177km to the north, and as far away as Xi’an, 400km to the east.

中国的地震监测中心表示，发生在周一早上7点45分（即格林尼治标准时间(GMT)周日23点45分）的初始地震震级为6.6级，有一次余震达到5.6级。在震中北面177公里的甘肃省省会兰州就能感觉到地震，而远至震中东面400公里的西安也有震感。

With a population of 26m, Gansu is one of China’s more lightly populated provinces, although Dingxi has a total population of about 2.7m. The deaths and injuries were reported in Min County and other rural southern parts of the municipality, Dingxi mayor Tang Xiaoming told state broadcaster CCTV.

甘肃省有2600万人口，是中国人口较少的省份之一，不过定西市总人口约有270万。定西市市长唐晓明告诉中国中央电视台(CCTV)，在岷县及该市南部多个农村地区均有伤亡报告。

Su Wei, leader of a 120-member rescue team from the paramilitary People’s Armed Police, told CCTV that they were on their way to the epicentre, but progress was being slowed by mud and rock slides.

武警甘肃总队专业地震救援队指挥员苏伟告诉中国中央电视台，这支救援队一共有120人，他们正向震中进发，不过前进的速度受到了塌方和滑坡的影响。

The Chinese Red Cross said it was shipping 200 tents, 1,000 sets of household items and 2,000 jackets to the area and sending teams from both Lanzhou and Beijing to help with relief work.

中国红十字会表示正向灾区运送200顶帐篷、1000个家庭包以及2000件夹克，还从兰州和北京都派出了队伍，协助开展救援工作。

Heavy rain is expected in the area later in the week, raising the need for shelter and increasing the chance of further landslides.

预计本周晚些时候受灾地区将有大雨，这会增加对避雨设备的需求，并可能发生更多滑坡。

The US Geological Survey measured the magnitude of the initial quake as 5.9 and the depth at 10km. Initial measurements of an earthquake can vary widely .

美国地质调查局(US Geological Survey)测得初始地震的强度为5.9级，震源深度10公里。对地震的初步测量有可能会有很大差异。