After the magnitude-6.6 earthquake in Northwest China hit on Monday, July 22, 2013, heavy rains are expected for some of the areas affected by the quake. Experts have warned that the rain, in a combination with constant aftershocks in the area, could be dangerous.
Chief forecaster of the Central Meteorological Center Sun Jun said that there will be sunny weather in the Dingxi, Gansu province, but on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 in the evening, most of the city will face moderate rain and a few places will have thunderstorms. Lanzhou, the weather forecasting station in the provincial capital, has issued a red alert for rainstorms on Monday, July 29, 2013. Red is considered to be the highest level of China?s weather alert system which has four colors.
Sun also warned that people in the quake-affected areas must be on alert during rainy weather and must not set up tents under trees or electric line poles which can be easily struck by lightning. After the Monday quake, about 411 aftershocks have been recorded in the zone and the strongest was at magnitude 5.6.
Experts have also warned about landslides and flash floods. China is known for having high incidence of earthquakes and since 1990, this natural calamity has killed 550,000 people and has accounted for 53 percent of the deaths from earthquakes all around the world.
Photo Credits: BBC
