Tanhua Town, the epicenter of the earthquake which hit Dayao County in southwest China Yunnan Province in July, has experienced a second major tremor.

The epicenter of the latest quake, which measured 6.1 on the Richter scale, was located at Liuqie Township on Oct. 16.

More than 2,200 houses, including some newly-renovated homes, collapsed and nearly 300 cattle were killed, but no casualties have been reported as most villagers have been living in temporary shelter since July.

Over 7,400 local residents in Tanhua had been affected and the roads connecting the seven villages in the town were cut by the landslides, said Zhao Yun, a local official.

Nearly all on-going renovation projects in Tanhua had been halted.

The residents of Tanhua are mainly of the Yi ethnic group and the relief work is urgently required as temperatures will drop to below freezing in November.

Local transport had resumed and more relief materials, including tents, clothes and quilts, were on the way to Tanhua, said Na Yunde, a senior government official of Daoyao County.

On July 21, an earthquake, measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale, jolted eight counties including Dayao, killing 16 people and injuring 110.

It also resulted in the loss of 1,508 head of livestock, the destruction of 24,000 homes and damage to 1,186,000 others. The direct economic losses of the earthquake are estimated at 863 million yuan (US$104 million).

(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2003)