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China quake death toll up to 398

August 3, 2014

In this photo taken by cellphone and released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, men at rubbles of buildings look for survivors after an earthquake in Ludian County of Zhaotong City in southwest China’s Yunnan Province Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014. A strong earthquake rattled southwest China on Sunday, knocking out communication and power lines and causing people to rush out of buildings, but there were no immediate reports of injuries. (AP Photo/Xinhua/Hu Chao)

In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, rescuers transport injured people after an earthquake in Zhaotong City in the densely populated Ludian county in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Sunday Aug. 3, 2014. The strong earthquake in southern China’s Yunnan province toppled thousands of homes on Sunday, killing at least 175 people and injuring more than 1,400, according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency. (AP Photo / Xinhua, Zhang Guangyu)

At least 398 people have been killed and more than 1,800 injured after a 6.5 magnitude earthquake rippled through China’s southwest region on Sunday.

State news agency Xinhwa reported that the earthquake struck in the remote mountainous area of Yunnan province, where some buildings, including a school, collapsed.

All of the casualties reported so far are in Qiaojia County of the Zhaotong region, which appears to be the hardest hit. More than 12,000 homes are thought to have been destroyed in Ludian, a county of some 439,000 people. The earthquake was the strongest to hit the Yunnan region in 14 years.

Ma Liya, a resident of Zhaotong, told Xinhua that the streets there were like “battlefield after bombardment” and said that her neighbor’s two-story building has collapsed.

The Chinese government is sending 2,000 tents, 3,000 folding beds, 3,000 quilts and 3,000 coats to the disaster zone, Xinhua reported.

**Numbers have been updated.