China mounts quake recovery

China's state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday that nearly 7,000 buildings, including 100 schools, were damaged or destroyed by the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that hit late Tuesday. At least eight aftershocks have ensued.

School construction is a sensitive topic in China, where more than 5,000 pupils died when classrooms collapsed in a 2008 quake in neighboring Sichuan province. Public grief focused on shoddy buildings and corruption.

Xinhua said 3,200 troops were among rescue teams sent to Yunnan and instructed to "save more lives" by Prime Minister Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping.

The epicenter was in Jinggu county, 85 kilometers (50 miles) from Pu'er, the picturesque city famous for its tea plantations.

Reservoir's dam cracked

Photos on social media showed crowds of residents milling outside shortly after Tuesday's late evening earthquake as well as damaged walls and fallen roof tiles.

Worst hit was the town of Yongping, which has a population of 54,000.

Residents were evacuated near a county reservoir after its dam began to leak water through a 8-centimeter (3-inch) crack.

Yunnan lies near China's border with Myanmar and often experiences seismic activity due to friction between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck Yunnan in August, killing more than 600 people. It is an underdeveloped area that is home to ethnic minorities.

ipj/sb (AP, AFP)