Chinese state media posted video of firefighters digging through debris in search of survivors, warning that the bitter cold and high-altitude terrain were making it difficult to find people.
Xi Jinping, China’s powerful leader, on Tuesday morning called for an all-out search and rescue effort and urged vigilance against “secondary disasters” from the changing weather or aftershocks.
Basic infrastructure including water, electricity, and communication and transportation networks had also been damaged, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Gansu and Qinghai, on the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau, are among the poorest and most ethnically diverse regions of China.
Bonan, a mostly Muslim people and one of China’s smallest minority groups, make up nearly all of the 20,000-odd people living in Jishishan, which sits around 6,500 feet above sea-level.
The average disposable income in the county is just over $2,600 a year, or about half the national average.