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A 6.6-magnitude earthquake jolted a juncture region of two counties in northwest China’s Gansu Province Monday morning, leaving at least 56 people dead, 412 others injured and 14 missing, according to local authorities.

A house is damaged in quake-affected Lixian County, northwest China’s Gansu Province, July 22, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

As of 1 p.m., the 6.6-magnitude quake, which happened at 7:45 a.m. at the juncture of Minxian County and Zhangxian County in the city of Dingxi, has also left over 300 others injured, the publicity department of Dingxi city government.

As of noon on Monday, 371 aftershocks had been recorded in the quake-hit region, with the strongest measuring 5.6 magnitude, Chang Zhengguo, spokesman for the provincial government, said at a press conference in the provincial capital city of Lanzhou.

Initial investigation showed that the quake had caused the collapse of over 1,200 homes and severe damage to 21,000 homes, he added.

Xinhua reporters arrived at the seriously-hit Meichuan Township, of Minxian County, around noon on Monday.

A total of 31 people have been confirmed dead in Meichuan, according to rescuers.

Five rural residential buildings have collapsed and cracks could be seen on many walls in Chagu Village, Meichuan Township.

Communication in many villages in Meichuan Township and in 13 towns of Zhangxian County has been cut off. Power has been cut off in five towns in the eastern part of Minxian County as of 2 p.m..

The epicenter of the quake, with a depth of 20 km, was monitored at 34.5 degrees north latitude and 104.2 degrees east longitude, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.

The earthquake happened at a fault zone in the province, which has recorded 25 earthquakes with a magnitude of over 5 throughout history, the China Earthquake Administration said. The strongest quake recorded around the fault zone was measured with a magnitude of 8.0 on July 21, 1654. That one occurred about 121 km from the site of the latest quake, it added.

Sources with the Minxian County government said most of the townships in the county have been affected by the quake.

Locals in Minxian County said the quake lasted for about one minute.

Armed police, firefighters and more than 300 local militiamen have been dispatched to the quake-hit region to help with rescue efforts.

The provincial civil affairs department has sent 500 tents and 2,000 quilts.

The Lanzhou Railway Bureau has started an emergency response to guarantee the safety of railway bridges and communication equipment in the province.

Light to heavy rain has been forecast in Dingxi City, according to the provincial meteorological station. This will affect the rescue efforts.

Meanwhile, the earthquake was also felt in Tianshui City and Lanzhou as well as the cities of Xi’an, Baoji and Xianyang in neighboring Shaanxi Province.

(Xinhua contributed to the story)

In response to terrorist attacks in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, police have been offering rewards for dangerous weapons since July 2. Nearly 5,000 knives and 1,500 bullets have been turned in to police since then. [Photo/China Daily]

More than 4,850 knives and 1,500 bullets have been turned in to police in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, since July 2, when the region began offering rewards for long knives, guns and other dangerous weapons.

“Many people contacted us about turning in restricted items after the notice was issued,” said Lin Hao, an officer with Urumqi’s public security bureau’s security detachment, on Sunday.

“They said they knew having guns and bullets in their houses is a danger to both the public and themselves, but they feared they would be punished for possession if they had handed them in. The main purpose of the notice was to clear people’s doubts about punishment for having them.”

Xinjiang police issued the notice after a June 26 terrorist attack involving long knives in Lukqun township, Turpan prefecture. Thirty-five people were killed in the incident.

The notice said those who handed in “restricted knives” — those with blades more than 15 cm long — would get market value for the weapons, while the compensation for guns would be 100 yuan ($16.30) to 200 yuan.

Firearms possession in Xinjiang has a historical precedent, Lin said.

“In the past, many people in Urumqi, especially herdsmen, had shotguns for protection against wild animals. Also, security guards of big factories were all armed in the 1950s and 1960s and might have kept the weapons due to management loopholes,” Lin said.

“As long as people can explain why they have guns and bullets, they won’t be punished.”

Police of Shayibake district, under the jurisdiction of the Urumqi public security authority, said last week that they had taken in 2,395 knives and 43 guns from July 1 to 8.

On July 10, police in Kuitun, in the Ily Kazak autonomous prefecture, gave 2,356 yuan to a resident who handed in three pistols and 413 bullets. The guns and bullets had been collected by his father-in-law, who had been in the military and died in 2011. The resident found the pistols and bullets while cleaning the basement of a house.

Lin recalled one unusual call from an elderly man who wanted to hand in weapons.

“We got a call on July 4 from a retired factory security guard who is almost 90 years old, saying he has guns and bullets somewhere in his house but he couldn’t remember where he put them. We were all surprised about how many bullets were stored in his house, ” Lin said.

He added that the department also got a tip on terror-related activates that led to two arrests but declined to elaborate because the case is still being investigated. The Xinjiang Public Security Department also issued a notice on July 1 offering rewards of 50,000 to 100,000 yuan for tips that help solve cases involving violence and terrorism.

Yisakjon Asan, 29, a police officer with the Nanguan station, has been posting the notices around the communities and explaining the reward to residents.

“People have some specific questions such as if the length of a restricted knife includes the handle. Recently, a resident of Shanxixiang community handed in more than 150 restricted knives to us,” he said.

The Nanguan police station is in charge of the Erdaoqiao area of Urumqi, which is like the Tian’anmen area of central Beijing, said Yu Xinhong, deputy director of the police station.

“It’s a must-visit place for people all over Xinjiang, so the daily population could reach 100,000, while the number of permanent residents is about 32,000. The area’s stability is crucial to Urumqi,” Yu said. The area has more than 100 knife vendors, he added.

Lin said most of the restricted knives sold in the market are made in Zhejiang province, and the crackdown on restricted knives won’t affect the sales of small handcrafted knives, which are a Uygur tradition and a favorite souvenir.

“People should also know the danger of selling restricted knives because they could also be the victims of violent crimes. The crackdown is for the safety of everyone,” Lin said.