YIBIN: The Sichuan province in southern China was hit by an earthquake of magnitude 6 on the Richter scale, on night of June 17, killing 11 people and injuring 122, according to government account. The casualty toll of the incident was posted on Yibin city government’s social media accounts this morning.
The earthquake collapsed a hotel in Changning county, damaging roads. While China’s Ministry of Emergency Management have already initiated rescue efforts, dispatching firefighting crews and other rescue personnel, the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration have also sent 5,000 tents, 10,000 folding beds and 20,000 quilts to the quake-hit areas.
The epicenter was 16 km below the surface, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage to buildings and infrastructure.
China’s worst earthquake in recent years struck the mountainous western portion of Sichuan province in 2008, killing nearly 90,000 people. That earthquake was about 400 km from June 17.