China suffering to Earthquake 1 die and above 300 are injured

An earthquake in southwestern China's Yunnan province left one person dead and 325 people injured, the provincial government said.

U.S. Geological Survey said 5.7 magnitude quake struck in Yunnan province in 1917 local time (1119 GMT).

The damaged 30,000 homes and was followed by eight aftershocks, Xinhua news agency reported.

The agency said the authorities had sent thousands of tents, quilts and other aid materials to the site of the quake.

The epicenter was reported to be in a mountainous area in Yaoan County.
The 30 people who were seriously injured were treated in hospitals there, Xinhua said.
Hundreds of police have been deployed to provide assistance, the agency said.

The size-6 quake struck at 7:19 local time yesterday in Guantun Township, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the Provincial town of Kunming, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Eight aftershocks rattled the region as relief officials distributed tents, medicines and food to people who have homes were destroyed, Xinhua said.

About 18,000 houses were toppled and 75,000 buildings destroyed throughout the province as 8:30 today, a provincial government press officer said, declining to give his name.

Officials in Yunnan plans to send 4,500 tents, 3,000 quilts and other relief items to the quake zone, Xinhua said. Team from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the China Earthquake Administration is heading to the epicenter, according to the report.

The quake occurred at 7.19 pm, with the epicenter in the Guantun Township, some 200 km from the provincial city of Kunming, the China Earthquake Networks Centre said.

Eight aftershocks, measuring three to 4.1 on the Richter scale, were recorded after the quake. The latest aftershock occurred at 11.09 pm in the Yao'an County.


U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude of yesterday's quake at 5.7 with a depth of 10 kilometers.

The earthquake had no impact on the mining and smelting operations at the Yunnan Tin Co., Li Xia, an investor relations official, said on the phone today. Yunnan Tin is the world's largest producer of metal. Yunnan Aluminum Co. was also unaffected, Wang Jishi, an official at the company, said on the phone.



source : bloomberg.com