5.8-magnitude quake hits China's Sichuan, 3 injured

KANGDING, Sichuan - A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck Kangding County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, at 11:19 p.m. Tuesday, with three people slightly injured, local authorities said early Wednesday.

Two of the three injured were reported in Bamei township and one in Xiede township, Daofu county. The quake also flattened some houses in and cut off traffic to Zhonggu village of Bamei township.

The epicenter was monitored at 30.2 degrees north latitude and 101.7 degrees east longitude. The quake hit at a depth of 16 kilometers, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

Xinhua reporters at the scene said they felt a strong jolt on the eighth floor of a building in the county seat of Kangding and a cup on a table in their room fell to the ground.

Following the quake, many local residents rushed out of homes to the streets, with some claiming that they felt much stronger jolt compared to the one that hit three days ago. By press time, they were returning home and water supply remained normal in the county seat of Kangding.

The walls of Kangding airport were cracked with ceilings damaged, but the airport is functioning normally.

Nearly 7,000 students in four major schools in the County were evacuated, and there was no report of casualties or injuries among the students.

Telecommunications were affected and many could not be reached by phone. Local residents instead used the instant messaging service WeChat to contact each other.

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the same area on Saturday, causing five deaths and dozens of injuries.

The prefectural and county governments have allocated 9 million yuan for emergency relief and evacuated a total of 9,184 residents. A total of 999 medical staff were sent to the quake-affected areas and relief goods including tents, quilts, clothes and shoes were dispatched to the affected people.