Strong quake strikes SW China's Yunnan

Local residents spend the night outdoors at the Jinggu county of Yunnan province, on Oct 7, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua] [Photo/Sina Weibo]

At least one person has been confirmed dead and three others were injured after a 6.6-magnitude quake jolted a county in Southwest China Tuesday night, according to local government.

The casualties was reported from the Yongping town, Jinggu county of Yunnan province, which is only five kilometers away from the epicenter.

The quake at 9:49 pm (Beijing Time), with a focal depth of five kilometers, jolted the Jinggu Dai and Yi autonomous county with a population of 290,000, said an official with the county's publicity department.

The first batch of 230 professional rescuers have been rushing to the quake zone, according to the department.

"The whole building was shaking terribly with loud cracking sound. Plates fell off in the kitchen. We all ran out and the streets now are packed with people," Li Anqin, a resident living in Weiyuan town, the county seat of Jinggu, told Xinhua via telephone.

Li's apartment is on the ground floor. "I haven't seen any building around collapsed yet," she added.

Pictures posted on the internet show cracks on walls.

The China Earthquake Networks Center said the epicenter was monitored at 23.4 degrees north latitude and 100.5 degrees east longitude, which is about 67 km away from Lincang city and 85 km away from Pu'er city. Strong tremor was also felt in the provincial capital Kunming.

Earthquakes frequently strike in the region. A 6.5-magnitude quake in Ludian, Yunnan, on August 3 killed more than 600 people.

A 8.0-magnitude quake in Sichuan province, also in the southwestern China, in 2008 killed almost 70,000 people.