Strong earthquake shakes China
A strong, shallow earthquake has shaken Yunnan province in south-west China, killing at least one person.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake measured magnitude 6.0 and was centred 18 kilometres (11 miles) from Weiyuan city at a depth of 10.1 kilometres (6.3 miles).
Its shallow focus was likely to cause greater damage, though there were no immediate reports of serious destruction. But thousands of people fled into the streets and buildings were damaged.
China’s national earthquake monitoring agency gave the quake’s magnitude as 6.6 and said it struck just five kilometres (3.1 miles) below the surface. It said the quake was followed by eight aftershocks, the strongest of which registered at magnitude 4.2.
The quake hit at 9.49pm local time, when most residents would have been in their homes.
In the town of Yongping, at least one person was killed and three others injured, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
“The whole building was shaking terribly with a loud cracking sound. Plates fell off in the kitchen. We all ran out and the streets now are packed with people,” Li Anqin, a resident living in Weiyuan was quoted as saying.
Xinhua said strong tremors were felt in the provincial capital, Kunming, about 360 kilometres (220 miles) to the north-east. It said an initial 230-member rescue team had been dispatched to the quake area within two hours of it striking.
A state television reporter in the city of Pu’er, about 85 kilometres (53 miles) from the epicentre, said people fled buildings and were camping outside in anticipation of more aftershocks.
Wang Jian said there was damage to structures and the local mobile phone network, but had heard no reports of deaths or injuries.
The remote mountainous region near the border with Burma is prone to earthquakes. A 6.1-magnitude quake in northern Yunnan in August killed at least 615 people and left more than 100 others missing. In 1970, a magnitude-7.7 earthquake in Yunnan killed at least 15,000 people.
