An earthquake that hit Sichuan and Yunnan provinces has killed 25 people, damaged or destroyed more than 100,000 homes and affected at least 440,000 residents, state media said yesterday.
The epicenter of Saturday’s quake, which struck at about 4:30pm, was about 30km southeast of Panzhihua, near Sichuan’s border with Yunnan, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. The quake was about 10km deep.
The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 5.7.
A 5.6-magnitude aftershock hit the same area 24 hours later, the USGS said yesterday. There were no immediate reports of further damage from the second quake.
Xinhua said Saturday’s quake had injured 192 people and three more were missing.
It said 656 schools had also been damaged and that heavy rain and difficult terrain were hampering rescue efforts, with mobile telephone communications patchy.
State TV showed pictures of houses with large cracks in their sides, broken tiles on the road and people receiving medical attention under tents.
A woman who answered the phone at the Sichuan provincial seismological bureau said the region was hit by about 300 aftershocks yesterday morning. She declined to give her name, saying she was not authorized to speak to the media.
The earthquake administration sent teams and seismic experts to the quake-hit area while the Yunnan provincial civil affairs bureau and the Yunnan Red Cross Society sent 3,400 tents and 2,000 quilts, Xinhua said.
Relief efforts were hampered by heavy rains and the region’s rugged terrain, it said.
Dozens of evacuees were assembled on a primary school field in Panzhihua, footage from state broadcaster China Central Television showed. Wrapped in quilts, the evacuees, including children and the elderly, lay on plastic sheets and mats on the ground.
Also on Saturday, an earthquake measuring 5.3 struck Xinjiang, Xinhua said in a separate report.
No casualties were reported from the quake that hit the sparsely inhabited Tianshan mountains. The tremor was felt in nearby counties and the city of Korla, Xinhua said.
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