A 5.0 magnitude quake that jolted southwest China's Yunnan Province Friday evening has affected nearly 16,000 residents and damaged houses, roads and power lines, local government said on Saturday.
Seven houses collapsed and 3,600 others were damaged in the quake, which hit Tongbiguan Town, about 40 kilometers from the Yingjiang County seat at 8:36 p.m. Friday.
But there has been no report of casualties. Nearly 4,800 people were evacuated.
The quake also destroyed dozens of kilometers of rural roads and caused power cuts for 12 villager teams in the town.
By Saturday evening, electricity had resumed in three villager teams. Three telecommunications substations had been restored.
The Yingjiang county government has provided tents and quilts for the hardest-hit area.
The Yunnan Seismological Bureau workers were monitoring aftershocks and reviewing damage.
The area has been hit by aftershocks, the biggest of 4.0 magnitude, said the bureau.
More than 200 soldiers from the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture have reached the affected area to help evacuate people from dangerous buildings and carry out relief work.
A 7.3-magnitude tremor hit Yutian County, Hotan Prefecture, in the remote northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at 6:33 a.m. Friday. About 2,200 houses were damaged or flattened but no casualties were reported.
(Xinhua News Agency, March 23, 2008)