Society

Earthquake kills at least 25 in SW China

By Guo Anfei and Chen Xin (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-11 07:36

NOTE: The news report has been updated for latest casualties.

Soldiers help to give an injured man an IV drip in Yingjiang county of Yunnan province on Thursday. At least 24 people were killed and 245 injured in a 5.8-magnitude earthquake that had hit the county at 12:58 pm. [Photo/Xinhua]

KUNMING - At least 25 people were killed and 250 others injured after an earthquake jolted Yingjiang county in Southwest China's Yunnan province on Thursday, local authorities said.

Many houses collapsed in the 5.8-magnitude quake, which hit the county near the border with Myanmar at 12:58 pm.

The tremor led to a power outage, although telecommunication services continued functioning in Yingjiang, Wei Gang, the county head, told Xinhua.

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Photos being circulated on websites showed local buildings collapsed or toppled, houses cracked, debris scattered on the streets, vehicles damaged by falling debris, people crying and injured people lying in the streets waiting for medical treatment.

The rescue operation was bolstered by support from more than 400 soldiers, according to a Xinhua report.

They worked with local residents to lift debris and search for survivors, pictures showed.

A total of 2,000 tents, 3,000 quilts, 3,000 coats and other relief materials were taken to the disaster-hit region, according to the Yunnan provincial civil affairs department.

Classes at primary and middle schools in the county were suspended after the quake, local officials said.

The county, sitting on an earthquake-prone belt, has suffered about 1,200 minor tremors during the past two months, officials said.

The epicenter of the latest quake was determined to be at a depth of 10 km below Shiming village, about 2 km away from the county seat.

Three aftershocks, measuring up to a magnitude of 4.7, jolted the county within 10 minutes after the first tremor.

Following the disaster, the China Earthquake Administration said it had initiated a grade III emergency response and dispatched a team of experts to the quake zone.

The Yunnan provincial earthquake bureau also sent two teams to the stricken region to collect information about the disaster and conduct monitoring at the site.

Xinhua quoted an expert from the administration as saying that there is a possibility further quakes with magnitudes above 5 will happen in the county in coming days.

Guo Changhong, a local resident, said she and her son were taking a nap at home when the quake occurred.

"I felt a strong shake that woke me up," Guo said. "At the same time, I heard that people outside were crying. Then I got up immediately and grabbed my son's hands and ran out."

Guo said tremors have been common in her county since January. She estimated the earthquakes occur 10 times a day on average.

"We were really afraid of the quakes at first, but later we got used to it," Guo said. "But we still didn't dare to sleep in the house at night, so we put up a tent in the courtyard and slept in it."

Many of her neighbors even slept in the streets, she said.

A Kunming woman surnamed Li, who was in Yingjiang visiting her parents, said three consecutive moderate tremors occurred on Thursday morning, when she was eating breakfast at a restaurant.

"I was scared and ran out," she told China Daily. "But other people still sat there and ate food as if nothing had happened."

On Jan 1, a 4.6-magnitude quake in Yingjiang affected 97,400 people and destroyed more than 10,000 buildings, according to local media. Despite the size of the disaster, no casualties were reported.