A moderate earthquake killed one person and injured 31 in
southwest China's Yunnan Province on Friday, local officials
said yesterday.?Ten of the injured are in critical condition.
One more people was killed and another injured after being hit by
the rolling stones from the mountains after a 2.8 magnitude
aftershock on Sunday, said the bureau.
The quake, measuring 5.1 degrees on the Richter scale, shook
buildings in Yanjin, Daguan, Yiliang and Suijiang counties, at 1:51
PM on Friday, said the China Earthquake Administration (CEA) on its
website.
The epicenter of the quake was located northeast of the township
of Dousha, 570 kilometers from provincial capital Kunming, it said.
The CEA has dispatched earthquake experts to investigate.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs revealed that 1,541 had been
toppled by the quake, forcing 45,000 people to re-locate.
"The quake was strongly felt in the county," said Cheng
Lianyuan, Party secretary of Yanjin County. "Some big rocks from
the mountains rolled down and destroyed many sections of the road
linking the town and the county."
"Quite a number of homes in Dousha Township were ruined and the
streets were littered with tiles and bricks. Many residents stayed
outdoors for fear of aftershocks," said Zhang Yan, another county
official. Township officials were investigating casualties and
losses caused by the quake in outlying villages, Zhang added.
After the quake, the provincial civil affairs bureau delivered
400 tents (together with 3,000 others provided by the Ministry of
Civil Affairs), 16.25 tons of rice, as well as medicines and
instant noodles to Yanjin, local officials said, adding that a
total of 5,000 officials, police and soldiers are conducting rescue
and disaster-relief efforts across the quake-hit area.
Residents in Yanjin should prepare precautions against potential
strong aftershocks, said Hu Yonglong, deputy director of the
provincial seismological bureau, on Sunday. The area reported more
than ten aftershocks, the strongest reaching 3.3 degrees on the
Richter scale
Hu urged local officials and residents to have damaged houses
repaired and reinforce the mountain slopes besides roads and
rivers.
This was the second earthquake in as many months to jolt Yanjin
County, which is located on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and has a population of
350,000. It sits on an earthquake belt where at least nine major
quakes have been recorded, the strongest of which was measured at
7.1.
A similar quake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale hit Yanjin
and neighboring Daguan County on July 22, killing 22 and injuring
106 people.
(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency August 28,
2006)