Earthquake in China Claims Two Lives

On the night between Sunday and Monday, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck southern China. The epicenter was recorded near the city of Liuzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as reported by the state news agency Xinhua.

According to seismologists, the earthquake's focus was located at a depth of 8 kilometers. Local authorities confirmed the deaths of two people. One person is currently listed as missing, and search and rescue operations are ongoing. Data on the number of injured individuals and the extent of material damage are still being clarified.

A total of 315 rescuers from fire and rescue units, along with 51 units of specialized equipment, were promptly deployed to the disaster zone.

The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is a densely populated region in southern China with a population of over 50 million people, bordering Vietnam. Liuzhou is one of the country's leading centers for the metallurgical and chemical industries.

For comparison, a catastrophic 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Sichuan Province in 2008 claimed nearly 70,000 lives. Since then, China has significantly modernized its early warning system and earthquake-resistant construction standards, although older housing stock in rural areas remains vulnerable.