The 2009 Yunnan earthquake occurred with a moment magnitude of 5.7 in Yao'an County, Yunnan province, People's Republic of China on 9 July. At least one person died and over 300 were injured, with over 50 of these sustaining serious injuries.

Background and tectonics

At 11:19 UTC (19:19 local time), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake with an epicentre at 25.619°N, 101.086°W occurred. The epicentre was in Guantun, 200 km from the province's capital Kunming and 98 km east north east of Dali. The depth of the event was 10 km. Eight aftershocks were recorded. A magnitude 5.0 aftershock occurred on July 10 at 09:02:04 UTC (17:02:04 local time). Its epicentre was located at 25.627°N, 100.949°W. In total, there were over 8 aftershocks.

Damage and casualties

The earthquake destroyed 10,000 houses and damaged a further 30,000. One person died and over 300 people were injured, with over 50 suffering serious injuries. Yunnan province's civil affairs department was dispatching 4,500 tents, and 3,000 quilts as part of the disaster relief efforts. Also, a coal mine collapsed in the epicentral area within 50 miles.