Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The province of Yunnan was hit yesterday morning by another earthquake, which has wounded more than a dozen people and severely damaged hundreds of homes. In the same area, on 3 August a violent shock killed over 600 people, causing thousands of casualties and nearly 60 thousand evacuated, with Catholics in the forefront of the fundraising efforts and distribution of aid.
Yesterday, the earth shook again in the county of Yongshan, about a hundred kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake of two weeks ago; Xinhua news agency reports at least 19 people injured, ten of whom are being treated in hospitals in the area. The magnitude 5 quake has razed or caused damage to at least 481 homes.
The China Earthquake Networks Centre confirms that the earth shook at 6:07 am and the epicenter is located in the town of Wuji. It is a rural area with high population density, characterized by old wooden houses and a lack of strong earthquake-resistant structures.
Local witnesses speak of a strong shock, which caused panic among the people who poured onto the streets fearing the collapse of their homes. More than 50 km of road has been damaged, 41 km of underground connections and 21 km of electric cables.
The earthquake was also felt in neighboring Sichuan, with many people awakened by tremors posting on social networks; their thoughts immediately ran to the devastating earthquake of 2008, which killed tens of thousands of people.
First responders arrived in the area of the epicenter of the earthquake yesterday nearly two hours after the first shock; the heavy rain that is hitting the zone hampers aid operations. According to the Meteorological Department, the situation is likely to worsen and there is a high risk of landslides.