Death toll in China earthquake soars to 75

PanARMENIAN.Net - A strong earthquake that hit a hilly farming area in north-west China has killed at least 75 people and injured more than 400, Belfast Telegraph said.

Tremors were felt in the provincial capital of Lanzhou 110 mile) north, and as far away as Xi'an, 250 miles to the east.

The government's earthquake monitoring centre said the initial quake at 7.4 am was magnitude-6.6 and subsequent tremors included a magnitude-5.6.

Heavy rain is expected in the area later in the week, raising the need for shelter and increasing the chance of further landslides.

Almost 2,000 homes were either destroyed or heavily damaged, with thousands more suffering partial damage, according to the Dingxi government . Gansu province, a region of mountains, desert and pastureland with a population of 26 million, is one of China's more lightly populated provinces.

China's worst earthquake in recent years was a 7.9-magnitude shock that struck the south-western province of Szechuan in 2008, leaving 90,000 people dead or missing.