Monday afternoon, a big earthquake shook a large part of southwest China. It’s not clear right away if it caused any harm or injuries.
The Xinhua news agency says that the 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the hilly county of Luding in the province of Sichuan at 12:52.
The US Geological Survey said that the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.6 and that its centre was 10 km below the surface. The first measurements from different agencies may be a bit different. Most of the time, deeper earthquakes cause more damage.
On the edge of the Tibetan plateau, where two tectonic plates meet in Sichuan, earthquakes happen often. At least four people died in June because of two earthquakes.
In 2008, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 hit Sichuan and killed about 90,000 people. This was the deadliest earthquake to hit China in recent memory. Outside of Chengdu, the provincial capital, it destroyed towns, schools, and rural communities, and it took a long time to rebuild them with stronger materials.
The epicentre of the most recent earthquake is in a hilly area 200 km (125 mi) southwest of Chengdu.
