China´s Sichuan hit by 6.5 magnitude quake: USGS

BEIJING: A 6.5-magnitude earthquake rattled southwest China late Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, with early reports of collapsed houses and evacuations.

The quake occurred around 9.20 pm (1320 GMT) in a remote region of Sichuan province not far from the site of a massive 8.0-magnitude earthquake in 2008 that left 87,000 people dead or missing.

Casualties from Tuesday´s quake remain unknown.

Its epicentre was 284 kilometres (176 miles) north of the provincial capital Chengdu and struck at a depth of 10 kilometres, the USGS said.

The jolted region, Jiuzhaigou county, includes one of the country´s most famous national parks, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famed for lakes in shades of otherworldly turquoise blue.

Some houses at the scenic spot collapsed following the quake and authorities were organizing young people to help evacuate residents, a staff worker at the park told the official Xinhua news agency.

The quake was strong enough to be felt in Chengdu, Xinhua said.
China is regularly hit by earthquakes, especially its mountainous western and southwestern regions.

Earlier today, a landslide triggered by heavy rains killed at least 24 people in a different, mountainous region of Sichuan to the south of Chengdu.