43 hurt as quake hits county in Yunnan
Print Edition
RESCUE work is under way after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake jolted a county in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, injuring at least 43 people and forcing 35,000 residents to evacuate, local authorities said yesterday.
The quake hit Yingjiang County under Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of Dehong at 9:20am, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.
Strong tremors were felt in the county seat, where residents rushed to open areas.
According to the provincial civil affairs department, the quake cut off electricity in Kachang township and Mengnong and Sudian villages, though communications have not been affected.
As of 11am, a total of 41 aftershocks up 5.1-magnitude had been recorded, the Yunnan Seismic Bureau said.
The tremors disrupted the lives of about 150,000 residents, including 35,000 evacuated, said Wang Junqiang, Party chief of the prefecture. The quakes toppled about 3,400 houses.
The Yunnan government sent a work team of over 50 people to evaluate the disaster.
The Yunnan Military Area has mobilized over 1,000 soldiers to join in the rescue work, while 1,000 more military officers are preparing to join the efforts.
Police have been sent to the township of Kachang, which is close to the epicenter, according to local publicity officials.
More than 360 teachers and students from Wupai Primary School in Kachang have been relocated to safety zones.
The school was seriously damaged in a 5.6-magnitude quake that hit the same region a week ago, with some classrooms becoming unusable because of broken doors and windows and cracks on the walls. Students had been moved to tents to continue their studies.
“Some classroom walls, already damaged in last week’s earthquake, just collapsed this time,” said the school headmaster, Ke Shangfa.
In Longdong Village, a team of 150 armed police had retrieved six villagers trapped under collapsed houses as of 11am.
The provincial government said it had sent tents, quilts, folding beds and mattresses to help those affected.
Yunnan lies where the Eurasian Plate and Indian Plate meet, and the province is prone to quakes. Yingjiang borders Myanmar and has a population of 300,000.
In March 2011, the county was jolted by a 5.8-magnitude quake, leaving 26 people dead and more than 300 others injured.
In May 2008, a massive earthquake quake rocked Sichuan, which neighbors Yunnan, killing tens of thousands of people.
In September 2012, 80 people were killed when twin earthquakes struck the mountainous border area of Yunnan and Guizhou.
A month later 18 children were killed when their school was buried under a landslide.
Yingjiang was also hit by a 5.6 magnitude quake last Friday, injuring at least 13 people.
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