At least 148 people were killed and hundreds others injured in the powerful earthquake that struck Jishishan County in northwest China's Gansu Province on Monday, impacting nearby Qinghai Province.

CGTN reporter Cen Ziyuan spoke to Chen Wenkai, director of the Emergency Service Center in the Gansu Provincial Earthquake Administration, about the extent of the damage caused by the quake.

Chen said this is a moderately strong earthquake, adding that locals generally felt that it may be more serious given that the casualties are more than that of a regular magnitude-6.2 earthquake. In his opinion, this is also closely related to the distribution of the population. Observing the aftershocks, the release of energy is concentrated from the epicenter to the north, Chen added.