An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale jolted the junction area of Southwest China's Yunnan and Sichuan provinces on Wednesday.
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No casualties have been reported, although the quake has destroyed dozens of houses and cut off road traffic and telecommunications.
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The quake hit the juncture area of Rongxian county in Sichuan and Deqen and Shangri-la counties in Yunnan at 4:44 am, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.
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The epicenter, with a depth of 9 km, was monitored at 28.2 degrees north latitude and 99.3 degrees east longitude, the center said.
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The Yunnan provincial seismological bureau launched a fourth-level emergency response shortly after the quake, and dispatched a work team to the region to carry out surveying, investigation and disaster evaluation work.
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The quake has toppled 36 houses and damaged 36 others in Shangri-la county and affected nearly 4,000 people, according to a statement from the civil affairs bureau in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Deqen, which administers the county, according to the bureau.
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The quake was also felt in five townships in Rongxian county in Sichuan. The county government has dispatched 100 tents for the disaster relief.
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Further verification of the impact of the quake is under way.