Quake strikes China, killing 22, hurting 126
Los Angeles Times
BEIJING — An earthquake struck southwestern China on Saturday on the border regions between Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, killing 22 people and injuring at least 126, state media reported.
Some 1,000 houses were destroyed, burying people in the rubble, and cracks appeared in the walls of more than 400 other homes, according to the New China News Agency.
The epicenter of the quake, which struck around 4:30 p.m., was about 20 miles southeast of the city of Panzhihua, near Sichuan’s border with Yunnan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was about 6 miles deep.
The U.S. agency put the magnitude at 5.7.
Sichuan province was the sight of a massive earthquake May 12 that killed approximately 70,000 people and left some 10 million homeless. The government responded quickly, but the disaster saw a large number of children die in shoddily built schools.
Saturday’s earthquake occurred in a relatively remote area. Though this limited the physical damage or loss of life, it may be several days before the full extent of the damage in smaller communities is known.
State media reported that communications around Panzhihua were disrupted. Fixed telephone service was restored within a few hours, but mobile service remained spotty, hampering the government’s efforts to assess the damage.
Chinese television showed people throughout the affected area camping on streets and in the open, fearful of aftershocks.
According to the Beijing News, the Sichuan government sent 2,200 tents and 1,000 quilts to aid victims.
Experts said China learned a lot from the May temblor. “Good results can come from bad things,” said Zhong Dajun, director of the Beijing Economic Research Center.
At the same time, China still needs to improve its building codes, supervision and inspections, disaster response, and preparedness.