Earthquake hits China

Very Sad For the People of Japan and South-West China...It's too notorious to withstand and it seems only the beginning!

An earthquake that struck in south-west China near the border with Burma has killed at least 22 people and injured more than 200 others, reports say. The 5.4 magnitude earthquake struck 225km (140 miles) southwest of Dali in Yunnan province at 1258 (0458 GMT), the US Geological Survey said.

Rescuers were working to pull people from collapsed buildings, images from the area showed. Chinese media said troops and tents were being sent to the area. It was not known whether the earthquake had caused damage or injuries in Burma. 'Buildings collapsed' A statement from the Myanmar [Burma] Meteorological Department said that an earthquake had struck but gave no more information.

The earthquake was centred on Yingjiang county, which has a population of 300,000. One resident told the BBC that several buildings had collapsed in the county seat. "Half of a supermarket building had collapsed. Three other big buildings nearby were also badly destroyed," the resident said.

"The walls of almost all the houses had collapsed. Police and soldiers are helping with the rescue." The earthquake, which was followed by several aftershocks, caused power outages in the county. Chinese state media put the quake's magnitude slightly higher, at 5.8.