Local authorities have activated a level-III emergency response and rushed rescue teams to the disaster area.

The earthquake hit Longyang District of Baoshan at 11:27 p.m. Tuesday. According to a local report, three suffered minor injuries in the earthquake and have been sent to hospital for medical treatment. Their injuries were all non-life threatening.

The earthquake has caused varying degrees of damage to residential houses, water, electricity, traffic, communication and other infrastructure in and around the epicenter area, said Zhang Yunyi, deputy mayor of Baoshan, at a press conference held Wednesday morning.

Over 2,400 people have been sent to the disaster area to carry out search and rescue operations. A total of 365 tents, 734 folding beds and 1,470 cotton quilts have been allocated to the affected areas, Zhang added.

Wayao Township, Shuizhai Township and Banqiao Township, all administered by Longyang District, are among the most affected. Currently, 2,805 houses in the three places have been damaged, and more than 11,000 local residents have been relocated to safer places.

Baoshan earthquake relief headquarters will keep tracking and monitoring the disaster situation and identifying potential geological disaster hazards, while ensuring adequate access to electricity, communication and traffic in the affected areas to restore local work and production order as soon as possible.

The epicenter was monitored at 25.35 degrees north latitude and 99.28 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 10 km, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. The epicenter area is about 1,863 meters above sea level on average, some 29 km away from downtown Baoshan, said the provincial earthquake bureau.

(With UNI inputs)