Two earthquakes struck China’s north-west Gansu province on Monday, killing more than 94 people, injuring over 1,000 others.

About 123,000 people were affected by the quake and 31,600 move to temporary shelters. More than 2,000 houses completely destroyed and 22,500 more seriously damaged, the provincial earthquake administration said on its website.

Min county in Dingxi's rural south accounted for almost all the deaths and the worst damage.

First earthquake had a magnitude of 5.98 and was shallow, with a depth of just 9.8 km (6 miles), the US Geological Survey said. Second earthquake had a magnitude of 5.6.

The two earthquakes occurred only an hour apart.

A witness told AFP the he felt “violent shaking” and he saw “an 18-story building, the tallest in our county, shaking ferociously.”

Earthquake Administration of Gansu province said 371 aftershocks have occurred since the first two earthquakes.

Tremors can be felt as far away as Xian, 250 miles (400 km) to the east.

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BBC correspondent reported that the closer to the surface an earthquake strikes, the more damage it can cause. The earthquake reportedly triggered a series of mudslides and landslides.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang stressed the importance of rescue operations being conducted well, said the Dingxi government.

The Chinese Red Cross said it was shipping 200 tents, 1,000 sets of household items, and 2,000 jackets to the area. Other supplies were being shipped in by the army and paramilitary police, which dispatched around 6,000 personnel and two helicopters to aid in rescue efforts.

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