Two magnitude 5.6 earthquakes shook southwestern China’s Yunnan and Guizhou provinces on Friday, killing at least 80 people, destroying more than 6,650 homes, triggering landslides and disrupting power and communications.
There were 795 reports of injuries, China News Service reported today citing Yunnan’s Department of Civil Affairs. About 201,000 people were evacuated, China News said. A total of 744,000 people were affected by the earthquakes, it said. More than 60 aftershocks hit as of 6 p.m. local time, Xinhua reported.
The death toll from yesterday’s earthquakes relative to their strength is because of a high population density, weak housing structures and the mountainous landscape, the People’s Daily newspaper reported on its website, citing Huangpu Gang, head of Yunnan’s earthquake bureau.