6.5 magnitude earthquake hits densely populated area in southwest China

There are reports of at least 400 dead and several hundred injured.



From Xinhuanet:
A 6.5-magnitude   earthquake jolted Ludian County of Zhaotong City in southwest China's Yunnan Province at 4:30 p.m. Sunday (Beijing Time), said the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The epicenter was monitored at 27.1 degrees north latitude and 103.3 degrees east longitude with a depth of 12 kilometers, according to the CENC.

"I felt a strong jolt on my fifth-floor home and some small objects in my home fell off the shelves," said a resident in the county seat of Ludian.
Most people rushed out of buildings to the streets. Electricity was cut, telecommunications services were affected and it was hard to reach people in Ludian by mobile phone, the resident said.

Another resident said it felt like "sailing a boat" when he was driving a car in the tremor.
The quake toppled and cracked many buildings, particularly old ones and residential homes.
Police and paramilitary officers are assembling and rushing to the quake-hit areas..........