5 killed, 54 injured after M6.3 quake hits SW China

A girl from Kangding county receives treatment at the People's Hospital of Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Sichuan province, Nov 23, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

Guo, a Kangding resident, told Xinhua the tremor was powerful and many articles fell to the floor in his home.

"But the earthquake did not afffect people's life that much," said Liu Jinyuan, deputy head of the publicity department of Kangding county, "people are still dancing on the square as usual."

The Sichuan Provincial Earthquake Administration launched a Grade I emergency response, the highest, after the quake and has dispatched working teams to Kangding, whose county seat is in a narrow valley with a river flowing through.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said at its website that it has allocated 1,000 tents, 2,000 quilts and 2,000 cotton-padded coats to the area.

The provincial civil affair department has also sent 600 tents, 1,000 quilts and 1,000 cotton-padded coats. And the civil affair authorities of Ganzi are organizing a team to the epicenter to check disaster situation and help quake-affected people relocate.

Electricity supply has resumed as of 9 p.m. in Tagong Town, the epicenter, said the Sichuan Power Company of the State Grid.

Ya'an cty in Sichuan has dispatched five ambulances and 30 medical workers to the quake-hit areas, said the provincial health department. Another 20 medical workers from the People's Hospital of Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture are heading to the epicenter. A medical rescue team in Huaxi Hospital affiliated to Sichuan University is on standby.

A 35-strong rescue team of armed police arrived at Tagong township two hours after the quake occurred.

Railway authorities in Chengdu halted passenger trains in affected areas and dispatched workers to check railway facilities after the earthquake. And the service has been resumed as of 6:55 pm.

The sector of Linzhi county in Tibet Autonomous Region of the G318 Highway, which links Tibet and Sichuan has caved in after the quake. More than 100 vehicles are trapped on the highway. Local authorities said the traffic is expected to be resumed by Sunday noon.

A statue of the Buddha in Tagong Temple was damaged during the quake but no casualty was reported, according to the head of the management committee of the temple.

The quake also affected Zhaodong City in neighboring Yunnan province.