China's Gansu hit by 5.5-magnitude quake, no casualties reported

A 5.5-magnitude earthquake jolted Tebo County in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province, at 14:56 on Monday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

No casualties had been reported from the affected areas by 3:30 p.m. while cracks had been observed in some buildings, local authorities said.

The office of the State Council earthquake relief headquarters, the Ministry of Emergency Management and the China Earthquake Administration activated Level IV emergency responses to the earthquake.

In the aftermath of the tremor, authorities in Tebo County have been organizing the urgent relocation of people from dangerous areas and working to assess the extent of the damage. So far, more than 20,000 residents in the county have been evacuated to safety.

Temporary camps have been set up where displaced residents are able to access shelter, food and emergency supplies, including quilts, stoves and fuel.

Preliminary investigations indicated that power supply, communications and water services in the area had not been affected.

According to several Tebo County residents, the quake was strong and forced people to rush out of their homes seeking safety, although no buildings appear to have been damaged.

The Gannan fire and rescue detachment mobilized 20 vehicles and 120 personnel, alongside a heavy-equipment team, comprising 24 vehicles, 120 personnel and three search dogs, from the fire and rescue service in the provincial capital Lanzhou. The fire department in neighboring Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture dispatched 10 vehicles, 60 personnel and two search dogs to assist rescue efforts.

The epicenter was monitored 10 km underground at 34.06 degrees north latitude and 103.25 degrees east longitude, the CENC reported.

China's Gansu hit by 5.5-magnitude quake, no casualties reported

A massive winter storm dumped large amounts of snow across much of the United States over the weekend, disrupting power supplies and air travel, and prompting states of emergency across the country, with warnings that the cold may linger.

Washington, D.C. was blanketed with over 20 centimeters of snow in nearly 20 hours of snowfall, with the U.S. capital likely to remain snowbound for a while as temperatures plunge to minus 10 degrees Celsius.

Federal agencies in Washington, D.C. announced a one-day closure on Sunday, allowing employees to work from home, while transit authorities reduced routes and slowed down operations on the city's subway systems, with thousands of flights grounded at the city's three major airports.

Supermarkets supplying essential goods remained open, but there were few sales staff or customers present. Many residents had prepared ahead of time, leading to supermarket shelves emptied of items like milk and vegetables.

The powerful winter storm sweeping across the country has killed 11 people and led to massive power outages and flight cancellations, severely disrupting daily life and travel in multiple regions.

The winter storm began on Friday and moved from the southern part of the country into the Northeast, the U.S. National Weather Service said Saturday night. It noted that heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain would affect nearly 190 million people -- more than half the U.S. population -- and warned that freezing air and ice accumulation following the storm could prolong its impacts through this week.

Much of US buried in snow after massive winter storm