12,000 houses damaged in moderate China quake

Beijing: Over 12,000 houses have sustained varying levels of damage after a moderate 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit a small town in southwest China's Yunnan Province, officials said on Saturday.

The earthquake hit the small town of Datianba yesterday and shook Changning County under Baoshan City at a depth of 10 kilometres. No casualties have been reported.

According to the provincial civil affairs department, 856 people were forced to evacuate, while 168 houses collapsed and over 12,000 were damaged, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

"I was so frightened that I wanted to cry, and the whole night I tossed and turned with worry," a villager named Yang Wenxue said. The walls of his bedroom cracked.

Another villager Zhao Suyun and his family took refuge in their living room as the rest of their home was so badly damaged.

"I woke up many times that night, scared that the ground was about to shake again," she said.

Yunnan Provincial Earthquake Administration has dispatched a 20-member team to the worst-hit area as part of emergency response procedure.

Electricity and telecommunication have resumed and 400 tents and 700 coats are being distributed among the affected.

Mountainous Yunnan is no stranger to earthquakes.

A 6.5-magnitude quake hit Ludian County on August 3 last year, killing more than 600 people.