A powerful earthquake measuring 7.8 struck on Monday close to densely populated areas of southwestern China, killing at least five people.
Here is a chronology of some of the major quakes around the world in recent years:
February 3, 2008: A quake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale hits eastern Congo and western Rwanda, killing 45 people and leaving thousands homeless.
March 6, 2007: An earthquake measuring 6.3 hits the Indonesian island of Sumatra, flattening buildings and killing at least 70 people.
May 27, 2006: A powerful quake in Indonesia's Yogyakarta region kills 6,000 and leaves 1.5 million homeless.
October 8, 2005: A quake measuring 7.6 kills more than 75,000 people, the vast majority of them in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province and the Pakistani-administered zone of Kashmir state. Some 3.5 million are displaced.
March 28, 2005: An earthquake on Indonesia's Nias island off Sumatra leaves 900 dead.
December 26, 2004: A massive undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra island triggers a tsunami which kills 220,000 in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia.
December 26, 2003: A quake measuring 6.7 hits the Iranian city of Bam, killing at least 31,884 people and injuring 18,000
{{/usCountry}}December 26, 2003: A quake measuring 6.7 hits the Iranian city of Bam, killing at least 31,884 people and injuring 18,000
{{/usCountry}}January 26, 2001: A massive earthquake hits the western Indian state of Gujarat, killing 25,000 people and injuring 166,000.