19 injured in SW China earthquake

At least 19 people were injured after an earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale jolted Yongshan County in southwest China's Yunnan Province at 6:07 am on Sunday, local authorities said.

The epicenter was in Wuji Township, 21 kilometers from the county seat. The source of the quake was 7 km deep.

Nineteen people in Yongshan were injured and 1,424 houses were damaged, with 42 houses collapsed and 568 badly damaged. Cracks have been spotted in adobe houses and more than 10 cattle lots collapsed at Jinping Village, according to the county government.

Among the injured, ten have been sent to county hospitals for treatment and another nine are receiving medical care at township clinics.

About 50 km of roads, 41 km of tunnels and 21 km of power transmission lines were damaged in five townships. More than 1,000 local officials, policemen and militia personnel are working in the affected regions in rescue efforts and disaster investigations.

About 200 firefighters from various cities have arrived in Yongshan for rescue.

Civil affairs authorities have sent 200 tents, 2,000 quilts and 2,000 coats to the county.

Twenty-two aftershocks had been reported as of 8 a.m. on Sunday. Communication in the county is unimpeded, according to the seismological bureau.

Yunnan governor Li Jiheng led a work team to Yongshan from Ludian county where a 6.5-magnitude earthquake on Aug. 3 killed more than 600 people and destroyed 80,000 homes.

The Yongshan earthquake is not an aftershock of the Ludian earthquake as the epicenters of the two quakes are 113 km away from each other, said an official with the provincial seismological bureau.

The story is broadcast by Charles McDermid.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）