Zhaotong Earthquake 2014: At least 230 killed in Ludian (Yunnan), China quake

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake’s epicenter was located 29 km WSW of Zhaotong. It was 6.2 miles deep.

More than 2,500 officers and soldiers have been dispatched to join the disaster relief operation, the Xinhua News Agency said. Zhaotong City has dispatched more than 300 police and firefighters to the quake-hit area. 

The Rescue and Relief forces have set up a mobile base station in the direct epicenter area where people can call relatives and friends for free.

The normal river bed has been blocked by the earthquake landslides and a lake has been forming.in the Kraal river. Similar incident happened in Nepal yesterday when massive landslide near Barhabise blocked Sunkoshi river claiming lives of 10 people and left 155 people missing.

Zhaotong which lies about 300 km from Kunming is on the earthquake belt and has been occasionally jolted by quakes. Magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Zhaotong in 1974 had claimed lives of atleast 1,432 people.

08:30 UTC (local time 2014-08-03 16:30 @ epicenter)

Shaking Intensity (MMI)
VII (Very Strong): Wenping
VI (Strong): Zhaotong
IV (Light): Xinhua, Tiandiba, Weining and Temuli
III (Weak): Dadukou, Kunming, Zigong, Anshun and Neijiang

Epicenter Location
11 km (7mi) WNW of Wenping, China
29 km (18mi) WSW of Zhaotong, China
91 km (57mi) WNW of Weining, China
135 km (84mi) ESE of Xichang, China
731 km (454mi) NNW of Ha Noi, Vietnam

The photo below shows the Chinese rescuers carrying an injured resident after an earthquake hit an area of Ludian county in Zhaotong in southwest China’s Yunnan province (AFP Photo / China out ).

This photo shows the collapsed houses after an earthquake in Ludian county, Yunnan province of China (Reuters / China Daily).

Original post: Natural Disasters List August 3, 2014

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