SEISMIC HAZARD
WIDESPREAD DAMAGE
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Earthquake affects more than 68,000 people, leaves 21,000 homeless
A magnitude 5.3 quake struck Yongshan County at a depth of 13 km, at 6:40 a.m. Saturday local time damaging at least 2,731 homes (75 destroyed), affecting more than 68,000, and leaving 21,000 displaced. At least 25 people were injured, authorities said.
The quake also damaged numerous other buildings including 48 schools across six towns, reported Xinhua.
Xiluodu Hydropower Project
“Yongshan is home to the Xiluodu hydropower project, China’s second largest hydropower station, only 15 km from the epicenter. Rumors have spread that the quake was caused by the power station,” said the report.
“The area has a history of quakes, [Zhang Jianguo of Yunnan Disaster Prevention Research Institute] said, and quakes caused by reservoirs usually have quite shallow epicenters, at a depth of around 4 km, while the epicenter of Saturday’s quake was 13 km deep.”
Original caption: A villager stands besides her damaged house in Yongshan County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, April 5, 2014. At least 25 people were injured and 21,000 relocated when a 5.3-magnitude earthquake stuck Yongshan early on Saturday. (Xinhua/Hu Chao). More images…
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