At least 32 people were injured, over 75,000 people displaced and nearly 16,000 houses damaged after a moderate earthquake of 5.5 magnitude struck a remote area in southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
The tremor hit Cangyuan County at 6:24 pm local time yesterday and has affected more than 81,000 residents in counties of Cangyuan and Gengma in Lincang City, besides displacing 75,764 people, local officials said today.
Seven of the injured were severely hurt, state—run Xinhua news agency reported, adding that over 220 homes were razed and more than 15,800 were seriously damaged in the two counties.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the China National Commission for Disaster Reduction today initiated a grade IV emergency response and have dispatched emergency teams to the region.
A grade IV response, the lowest in the emergency response system, means a 24—hour alert, daily damage reports, and the dispatch of money and relief materials within 48 hours.
Relief materials, including tents, quilts and tarpaulins have been sent to the affected regions.
Cangyuan is a sparsely populated autonomous county that borders Myanmar and home to China’s Wa ethnic group.