The number of victims of the earthquake that hit China's southwestern Yunnan province today has risen to 357, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.
According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake had a magnitude of 6,1 on the Richter scale, while the Chinese Seismological Service estimated it at 6,5 on the Richter scale.
The epicenter of the earthquake was at a shallow depth of only 10 km, below the city of Longtoushan, which was the hardest hit. Chinese state television said it was the strongest earthquake in the Yunnan region in the past 14 years.
Many houses collapsed, and people ran out of their homes in panic. There was also an interruption of electricity and telecommunications, and due to the force of the earthquake, stones fell and blocked the road near the city of Chaotung.
Chinese state media reported that 300 members of the army were subsequently sent to help the teams made up of 2.500 policemen and firefighters, who were the first to come to the rescue. It is said that heavy rains could make the work of rescuers more difficult.
With phones not working, Xinhua said, it is difficult to get in touch with the affected area, making rescue efforts difficult.
One eyewitness said that the streets of Zhaotong looked like a battlefield after the bombing.
Civil protection will send 2.000 tents, 3.000 field beds, 3.000 quilts and 3.000 coats to the region affected by the earthquake.
265.900 people live in Ludijan in seven municipalities.
Zhaotong, about 300 kilometers from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, is in an earthquake zone and is often the target of earthquakes, according to Xinhua.
In a series of earthquakes in Yunnan in September 2012, 81 people died and 821 were injured.
At least 7,7 people died in the 1970-magnitude earthquake that struck Yunnan in 15.000.
Earthquakes with magnitudes between 6,0 and 6,9 are considered strong and can cause moderate damage to well-built structures in populated areas. It can be felt within a radius of several hundred kilometers from the epicenter.
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