Moderate 5.0 earthquake strikes southwest China

A moderate 5.0-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern China on Monday near the region devastated by a powerful 2008 quake, the US Geological Survey said.

A moderate 5.0-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern China on Monday near the region devastated by a powerful 2008 quake, the US Geological Survey said.

HT Image

The earthquake hit the border area between the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou at 5:49 am local time (21:49 GMT yesterday), at a relatively shallow depth of 13.5 kilometres (8.5 miles), the USGS said.

There were no immediate reports of damage.

In May 2008 a massive 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan killing more than 87,000 people.