China: Death toll reaches 89 in Gansu earthquake

At least 89 people are confirmed dead in the wake of a powerful quake in China's remote Gansu province Monday morning, with five missing and thousands of others left homeless. 

The majority of the dead were from Minxian county, reported Xinhua. At least 515 people were injured and 60 remained in serious condition as of Tuesday.

A total of eight towns were hit by the quake in both Minxian and Zhangxian counties, located about 105 miles southeast of the provincial capital of Lanzhou.

More from GlobalPost: Powerful earthquake hits China's Gansu province 

"Many have been injured by collapsed houses," said a Minxian county doctor surnamed Du, according to Reuters. "Many villagers have gone to local hospitals along the roads."

Xinhua reports that 422 aftershocks had been recorded in the earthquake-afflicted region by Monday evening, with the strongest measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale.

Aftershocks can trigger deadly landslides, and officials are warning locals to stay away from steep mountains, said a Reliefweb report. 

Thousands of government officials, police officers, and soldiers have been deployed to Gansu to aid in rescue and recovery efforts, reports Bloomberg, which gave a death toll of 94. 

According to Bloomberg, the quake has so far injured 1,001 people and damaged or destroyed over 127,000 homes in the region.