Over 4,000 affected as quake hits China’s Sichuan province

CHENGDU: Over 4,000 people have been affected in Shiqu County in southwest China’s Sichuan province as a 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit the area on Wednesday, local authorities said Thursday.

The earthquake caused damage to the houses of over 790 local households in 84 villages. The economic losses were estimated at 79.83 million yuan ($11.28m), local publicity department said.

No casualties have been reported so far. The earthquake hit Shiqu County in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze at 8:23 pm Wednesday. The local government said the epicenter, 559km from Chengdu, the provincial capital, is sparsely populated and has an average elevation of 4,661 meters in the surrounding areas.

As of 8:00 am Thursday, the local government has set up 30 emergency tents and evacuated 1,447 people in the epicenter. Other rescue supplies, including 76 tents, 105 quilts, and 1,000 cotton clothes, have also been sent due to the low temperature in the area.