West News Wire: On Monday afternoon, a significant earthquake jolted a portion of southwest China. It wasn’t immediately obvious whether it resulted in harm or injuries.
According to the Xinhua news agency, the 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Luding county in Sichuan province at 12:52 p.m.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 6.6 magnitude earthquake had a center at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). Different agencies’ first measurements may vary somewhat. Deeper earthquakes typically do greater harm.
In Sichuan, where the tectonic plates collide on the edge of the Tibetan plateau, earthquakes frequently occur. At least four people were killed in two quakes in June.
A 7.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Sichuan in 2008 and killed approximately 90,000 people was the deadliest earthquake to strike China in recent memory. The temblor devastated towns, schools and rural communities outside the provincial capital of Chengdu, leading to a years-long effort to rebuild with more resistant materials.
The epicenter of the most recent quake is in a mountainous area about 200 kilometers (125 miles) southwest of Chengdu.
