Beijing - An earthquake with a magnitude of 6 on the Richter
scale struck overnight in south-western China, destroying about
18,000 homes, injuring more than 300 people and forcing the
evacuation of 400,000, state media reported Friday.
The quake damaged another 75,000 homes near the epicentre in
Yao'an county and four adjoining counties in Yunnan province, the
official Xinhua news agency reported.
It affected an area inhabited by 1.26 million people and could be
felt in the nearby tourist cities of Lijiang and Dali, and in the
provincial capital, Kunming, some 200 kilometres from the epicentre.
At least one person died and 325 people were reported injured,
including 24 in serious condition, the agency quoted local officials
as saying.
A 50-year-old woman died of blood loss in hospital after she was
pulled from the debris of a collapsed house, it said.
The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres below the ground with
an epicentre 2,130 kilometres south-west of Beijing. It was followed
by at least eight aftershocks.
It was initially measured at a magnitude of 6 by the China
Earthquake Administration, but the US Geological Survey recorded the
quake at 5.7.
More than 300 soldiers joined hundreds of police and civilians in
the immediate rescue and evacuation operation in the mountainous
area, which is about 2,200 metres above sea level, state television
said.
The Yunnan provincial civil affairs department allocated 20
million yuan (2.9 million dollars) in emergency funds and dispatched
4,500 tents, 3,000 quilts and other relief materials to Yao'an, the
reports said.
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake killed seven people in Yao'an county in
2000.
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