381 people died in strong earthquakes in China

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurred in southern China's Yunnan province, leaving at least 381 people dead, more than 1,800 injured.

The earthquake occurred around 16:30 pm on August 3 in the city of Zhaozhong, Yunnan Province, southwestern China. The epicenter was recorded at a depth of 12km underground, reported from the China Earthquake Network Center (CENC). The earthquake killed at least 367 people and injured thousands.

"I was in an apartment on the 5th floor when I felt a great shaking, furniture in the house fell off the shelf," Xinhua quoted the people in Zhao Thong. Other localities like Kunming, Chongqing, Lac Son and Chengdu also felt the earthquake.

Most people hurriedly left the buildings and poured into the street. Electricity has been cut, telecommunication services have been interrupted in many places. Earthquakes cracked many houses and public buildings."Too many buildings are destroyed, we are gathering more information about the number of people killed and injured," a local official said.

Police and troops were quickly at the scene of evacuation and rescue. Authorities sent 2,000 tents, 3,000 folding beds, blankets, and jackets to the affected area to support the people.

The big wall fell from the building after the magnitude 6.5 earthquake in Luelectric District, Yunnan.(Photo: Weibo)

Rescue workers are still trying to reach the victims in distant towns in the night. The image on the Weibo social site shows that rescuers are struggling to search under the ruins of flattened buildings. Where an earthquake happens is a mountainous area mainly cultivated in agriculture and a place where earthquakes are common.

The Chinese Red Cross and Hong Kong, Macao and neighboring Sichuan Red Branch branches sent relief supplies.

In 1974, an earthquake in the same area claimed more than 1,500 lives. In May 2008, a magnitude 8 earthquake struck Sichuan province, bordering Yunnan, killing tens of thousands of people and flattening a large area.