A moderate 6.0 magnitude quake on the Richter scale struck the scenic hilly Yunnan province in China at 11:19 GMT on Thursday at a 10 kilometres depth.

The quake has claimed one life with hundreds being injured and razing to the ground 18,000 and above homes in south-west China. Massive evacuation of more than 4,00,000 people was undertaken  by thousands of soldiers and police personnel, with necessary supplies like marquee, blankets amongst other provisions being made available.

More than 75,000 houses have faced severe damage in six districts of Yunnan with nearly 30 people afflicted with grave injuries. In the Yao’an district of Yunnan, close to 328 are injured with one dead.

The epicentre of the quake was on a region that has a rather sparse populace in the east-northeast area of Dali city than spans 98kms. There were eight post-tremors that ensued creating utter chaos amongst the residents who rushed outside to avert any major harm.

The governor of Yunnan, Qin Guangrong has bailed out 2.9 million dollars towards calamity assistance. The assessment of the mass destruction is reported to cause a dent of 2.5 billion yuan to the local economy.

A huge 8.0 scale quake struck Sichuan province last year had claimed the lives of 87,000 people, many of whom went missing.