BEIJING (AP) - The Latest on earthquakes in China (all times local):
9:50 a.m.
A local government in southwest China says the death toll from a strong earthquake has risen to 13 with 175 injured.
The government in Aba prefecture in Sichuan province says 28 of the people are seriously injured.
The quake Tuesday hit an area that includes a popular national park known for its spectacular waterfalls, and Xinhua said five tourists were among the dead.
The agency said more than 30,000 tourists at Jiuzhaigou, or Jiuzhai Valley, were relocated to safety with help from tourist buses and private vehicles.
8:20 a.m.
Chinese state media are reporting that the death toll from Tuesday’s strong earthquake in southwestern China has risen to nine.
The Xinhua News Agency says another 164 people were injured by the 7.0 magnitude quake in Sichuan province. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the magnitude at 6.5. The area hit includes a popular national park known for its spectacular waterfalls, and Xinhua said five tourists were among the dead.
The agency said more than 30,000 tourists at Jiuzhaigou, or Jiuzhai Valley, were relocated to safety with help from tourist buses and private vehicles.
8:00 a.m.
The U.S. Geological Survey has a magnitude 6.5 earthquake has struck a remote area of far northwestern China, about seven hours after a similarly massive quake killed at least seven people in a different part of the country.
The most recent quake, initially gauged at magnitude 6.3, hit a sparsely populated area of the Xinjiang region near the Kazakhstan border on Wednesday morning.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The quake hit about 2,200 kilometers (1,360 miles) northwest of another quake Tuesday night in Sichuan province that officials say killed seven people and injured dozens of others.
4:55 a.m.
Officials say the death toll from a powerful earthquake in southwestern China has risen to seven people, and 88 others are injured, including 21 seriously.
China’s official Xinhua News Agency reports that the information office of the Sichuan Province government says the number of deaths rose from the five tourists reported killed earlier. It didn’t give further details on the other two people killed.
The magnitude-6.5 quake struck Tuesday evening in a mountainous region near Jiuzhaigou, or Jiuzhai Valley, a famous national park known for spectacular waterfalls and karst formations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for rapid response efforts to rescue the injured.
___
12:25 a.m.
An official in southwestern China says a powerful earthquake near a popular national park has killed five tourists and injured 63 other people.
A man surnamed Song who answered the phone at a local emergency office in Aba prefecture, where the Jiuzhaigou (Jee-oh Jai GO) national park, is located said the town of Zhangzha reported the casualties from Tuesday evening’s quake.
The magnitude 6.5 quake struck a region bordered by the provinces of Sichuan and Gansu at a depth of just 9 kilometers (5.5 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones.
The China Earthquake Networks Center measured the earthquake at magnitude 7.0 and said it struck at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles). The quake occurred at about 9:20 p.m. near Jiuzhaigou, or Jiuzhai Valley, a national park known for spectacular waterfalls and karst formations, the Chinese agency said.
___
11:10 p.m.
A strong earthquake has shaken a mountainous region in southwestern China near a famous national park, causing residents to run into the streets and knocking out some phone networks, but there are no reports so far of injuries or major damage.
The magnitude 6.5 quake struck a region bordered by the provinces of Sichuan and Gansu at a depth of just 9 kilometers (5.5 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The China Earthquake Networks Center measured the earthquake at magnitude 7.0 and said it struck at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles). The quake occurred near Jiuzhaigou (Jee-oh Jai GO), or Jiuzhai Valley, a national park known for spectacular waterfalls and karst formations.
The area is located on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau in northern Sichuan province, home to many Tibetan and other ethnic minority villages.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.