Four Killed, More Than 150 Injured After Quake Hits Sw China

[News_Editor]

Four killed, more than 150 injured after quake hits SW China < br />

2012-06-26 11:04:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

LIJIANG, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- A moderate earthquake struck southwestern China on late Sunday afternoon, killing four people and leaving thousands of people homeless, local authorities said on Monday. More than 150 people were also injured.

The 5.7-magnitude earthquake at 3:59 p.m. local time (0759GMT) was centered about 111 kilometers (69 miles) northeast of LìjiÄng, a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Yunnan province. It struck about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the China Earthquake Network Center (CENC).

The earthquake struck at the border of Ninglang Yi Autonomous County in Yunnan province and Yanyuan County in neighboring Sichuan province. Most of the victims and damage was reported in Ninglang Yi Autonomous County, but some casualties were also reported in Yanyuan.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Civil Affairs said four people, three in Ninglang county and one in Yanyuan county, were killed as a result of the earthquake. At least 152 people were reported injured, including 22 people who were seriously injured and taken to area hospitals.

Thousands of people were evacuated in the quake-hit area, where nearly 4,300 houses were damaged or destroyed, roads damaged and water supplies cut. Regional officials launched a level-two disaster emergency response in Ninglang, sending 2,800 tents, 5,500 blankets, and 4,500 coats.

A level-four disaster emergency response was initiated in Yanyuan county, where relief workers made available 50 tents, 100 blankets and 260 sets of clothes, among other relief materials. The civil affairs ministry said relief work was being conducted in an orderly fashion, and more material would be made available if needed.

The provincial civil affairs department in Yunnan province said it also made available approximately 15 million Chinese yuan ($2.3 million) to carry out the initial emergency response. LìjiÄng Mayor He Lianghui told the state-run Xinhua news agency that affected residents will receive 100 yuan ($15.71) as a subsidy, and food and clean drinking water will also be provided.

In addition to the human casualties, provincial officials said more than 1,200 livestock were killed.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured the strength of the earthquake at 5.5 on the body wave magnitude (Mb) scale, slightly lower than the Chinese magnitude. The USGS estimated that some 45,000 people near the epicenter may have felt strong to very strong shaking, while 7.5 million others who live further away may have felt weak to moderate shaking.

Buildings in many regions of China are extremely vulnerable to earthquake shaking, and even light earthquakes frequently cause serious damage and casualties. A 2.9-magnitude earthquake struck central China in November 2011, causing a rockslide at a coal mine which killed eight workers.

And in August 2011, at least 26 people were injured when a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, destroying 80 homes. It followed a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in China's Yunnan Province in March, killing 26 people and injuring more than 300 others.

Most notably, nearly 3,000 people were killed and more than 12,000 others were injured when a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck northwest China in April 2010.

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