Southwest China quake kills 15, scores injured
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Saturday, August 30, 2008
An earthquake hit southwest China's Sichuan province on Saturday, killing 15 people and injuring nearly a hundred as houses in rural villages collapsed,
The epicenter of the quake, which struck around 4:30 p.m. (3:30 a.m. EDT), was 20 miles southeast of Panzhihua, near Sichuan's border with Yunnan province, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was six miles deep.
The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 5.7 and China's official Xinhua news agency said it measured 6.1 on the Richter scale.
Parts of Sichuan province were devastated by an earthquake that killed about 70,000 people in May 12. The province, known for its pandas and fiery cuisine, has struggled to rebuild after the disaster, which left 10 million people homeless.
About 1,400 homes were damaged in several counties and some of them collapsed entirely, Xinhua reported.