Two fatal earthquakes hit China

Nature Posted on 07/09/2012

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Two earthquakes shook rural areas of south-western China on Friday, hitting roughly 45 minutes apart at an extremely shallow depth.

The earthquakes are thought to have been around 5.6 magnitude, striking near the border of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces just before 11:30am local time.

Reports were stating on Friday afternoon a death count of at least 50, with another 150 injured. The deaths were all reported from Yunnan province and as of Friday afternoon, none had been reported from Guizhou.

The area is an extremely rural part of China that receives very little tourism. However, travellers in the area have been advised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to follow the advice of local authorities and try to make contact with their nearest British Embassy or Consulate-General to confirm their safety.

200 000 homes are thought to have been damaged by the quakes, including several schools. Buildings in the region often do not adhere to construction standards and lack the necessary steel structures to reinforce them.

The quakes were extremely shallow - only 10km below the surface - meaning that even at a lower magnitude, they caused significant damage to the areas they hit.

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In brief : Nature