In northwest China, difficulties are mounting for those who just survived a deadly earthquake.
Locals are grappling with cold weather and a lack of supplies, reportedly with little help from authorities.
“We haven’t eaten anything in the past two days, we haven’t had any water to drink, the house is all gone, and so is the food,” Ma Shiyuehua, a villager in Qinghai Province, said.
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake killed at least 130 people in the country’s northwestern Gansu and Qinghai provinces.
It damaged or destroyed over 150,000 houses. The numbers come from Chinese state media.
The actual number of casualties from such events may be much higher. The actual number of casualties is difficult to verify, as the CCP routinely suppresses or alters information.
Officials said about 80,000 people were displaced.
Those who lost their homes have been forced to take refuge outdoors in temperatures well below freezing.
“My two kids are sleeping in someone else’s tent. They don’t have a tent now,” Ma Haijie, a villager in Gansu Province, said.
“Yesterday my husband and my two girls stood in the yard for the whole night,” Ms. Ma added.
A powerful cold front has gripped most of China.
Villagers said the only assistance they’ve gotten from local authorities so far has been tents for shelter.
“The communist party, the town government can’t do anything about it because it’s a natural disaster. There is nothing we can do when there is a natural disaster,” Du Daxiu, a villager in Qinghai Province, said.
Many of the now-homeless quake survivors say they’re also lacking back supplies like food and water.