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July 10th, 2009

Quake rocks southwestern China, kills 1

Posted: 02:28 AM ET

(CNN) - China recorded its first death Friday from a moderate earthquake that struck the country's southwest the night before, state-run media reported.

The quake hit Yunnan province in southwest China Thursday evening, leaving one dead and more than 330 people injured, the Xinhua news service reported. Xinhua reported the quake as having a 6.0-magnitude, while the U.S. Geological Survey revised the magnitude to 5.7.

More than 18,000 homes have been destroyed by the quake, which happened at 7:19 p.m. (11:19 a.m. GMT) Thursday, at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to Xinhua.

Thirty people suffered severe injuries, and another 305 were slightly injured as of 1 a.m., relief officials in Yao'an County said.

Tents, medicine and food were seen being distributed by relief authorities, Xinhua said. Approximately 4,500 tents, 3,000 quilts and other relief material was being distributed, officials said, according to the Xinhua report.

Thursday's earthquake comes more than a year after a massive quake struck Sichuan province in China. The 8.0-magnitude quake on May 12, 2008 killed more than 68,000 people, left nearly 18,000 more missing and displaced 15 million others.


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