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Moderate earthquake leaves 29 injured in China

AP

Graphics showing the epicentre of an earthquake measuring 5.1 in southwestern China’s Yunnan province on 25 February 2010.AP

At least 29 people were injured and hundreds of buildings damaged in an earthquake in southwestern China’s Yunnan province, reports said Friday.

Dozens of aftershocks continued to rock the area around Chuxiong prefecture where the quake struck shortly before 1 pm Thursday.

Some registered as high as magnitude 5.0, equaling the strength of the original quake, according to the prefectural government and state media.

Among structures damaged were at least 100 schools, 72 clinics and 1,446 houses. Scores of damaged buildings were being pulled down to guard against collapse.

More than 700 soldiers were dispatched to aid the rescue. Quilts, clothing and thousands of tents were rushed to the area, about 95 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of the provincial capital of Kunming. More than 3,000 people were being provided temporary shelter in tents.

In May 2008, a massive 7.9-magnitude temblor struck Sichuan province just north of Yunnan, leaving 90,000 dead or missing and another 5 million homeless.

Meanwhile, a magnitude-5.0 quake struck southern Tibet on Friday but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The quake hit Tingri county, about 320 kilometres (200 miles) west of the regional capital Lhasa, at 12:42 pm (0442 GMT), the Tibetan earthquake monitoring centre said.

The US Geological survey gave the magnitude as 5.4, enough to do serious damage, although the area is remote and lightly populated.

Copyright © 2010 AP

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