A weak earthquake hit southwestern China on Sunday afternoon, injuring 22, according to local authorities.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake struck on the boundary between Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and had a magnitude of 5.4 and a depth of 38 km, respectively (24 miles).
The Yunnan Seismological Bureau said that 22 people were hurt, two of them critically, in the quake that struck Ninglang county.
A search and rescue team of 60 people has been despatched to the epicentre of the earthquake, according to the regional seismological administration. However, there have been no reports of damage to houses so far.The China Earthquake Networks Center later determined that the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.5 and had a depth of 10 kilometres.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the epicentre was 115 kilometres away from Lijiang in Yunnan province.
Earthquakes strike China on a frequent basis, particularly in the country’s mountainous western and southwestern provinces.
A shallow earthquake struck Sichuan province in September, killing three people and injuring scores more. Tens of thousands of homes were damaged, and the country is still reeling from the effects.
In 2008, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan, China, killing more than 80,000 people.
Thousands of children were among those who died when badly constructed school buildings collapsed, but the government refused to provide an exact figure because the matter had taken on a political dimension.
Published in Dawn on the 3rd of January, 2022.
