One dead, 22 injured in SW China earthquake

A nine-year-old boy was killed and another 22 injured in the 5.9-magnitude earthquake that struck southwest China's Yunnan Province on Saturday evening, local authorities said Sunday, citing latest statistics.

The tremor, with a depth of 10 kilometers, was felt strongly at 6:20 p.m. in Jinggu County, Pu'er City. About 16 hours before, a 5.8-magnitude quake jolted the county. Both are believed to be aftershocks of the 6.6-magnitude earthquake that hit Jinggu on Oct. 7.

A total of 339,000 people in Pu'er City were affected, with more than 11,000 local residents relocated, said Wei Yihong, the deputy city mayor.

The quake toppled 1,302 houses while severely damaging 6,471, Wei said. More than 100 experts have been sent to Jinggu to evaluate the damage the houses sustained and teach local residents how to escape in case of any other quakes.

About 2,500 firefighters, armed police and government officials carried out relief work, and the government has dispatched 698 tents and 3,028 quilts to the quake-hit areas.

Yunnan is prone to earthquakes as it forms part of the circum-Pacific seismic belt, known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the Eurasia seismic belt. In August, a 6.5-magnitude quake in Yunnan's Ludian county killed more than 600 people.