Four dead after earthquake in southwest China

Four people were killed and another 24 injured when an earthquake shook southwestern China, local authorities said Tuesday.

The shallow quake in Qiaojia county struck late Monday evening, the Yunnan government said on its social media account.

Video clips on China's Twitter-like platform Weibo showed shoppers taking cover in a store as boxes flew off the shelves, while students in a classroom elsewhere scrambled to hide under their desks before covering their heads with textbooks.

The quake hit near the city of Zhaotong, which has a population of over six million, and registered 5.0-magnitude, according to China's government seismology authority.

Around 600 rescue workers have been sent to the disaster area, the Yunnan government said, including firefighters and soldiers from the local division of the People's Liberation Army.

Videos on social media showed rescue workers combing through rubble and streets littered with fallen tiles and concrete.

Residents could be seen stepping over debris as they left buildings, and trying to avoid rocks that had fallen on a road while riding a motorbike.

China is regularly hit by earthquakes, especially in its mountainous western and southwestern regions.

A strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake in Sichuan province last year killed 13 and injured nearly 200 people, damaging a large number of structures.

A powerful 7.9-magnitude quake in Sichuan in 2008 left 87,000 people dead or missing.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Four dead after earthquake in southwest China
Beijing (AFP) May 19, 2020
Four people were killed and another 23 injured when an earthquake shook southwestern China's Yunnan province, local authorities said Tuesday. The shallow quake in Qiaojia county struck late Monday evening, the Yunnan government said in a statement on its social media account. The quake hit near the city of Zhaotong, with a population of over six million, and registered 5.0-magnitude, according to China's government seismology authority. State news agency Xinhua said Tuesday that rescue team ... read more