People run off stairs at a building in Congjiang County, close to Jianhe County, southwest China's Guizhou province, March 30, 2015. A 5.5-magnitude quake struck Jianhe county in Guizhou province Monday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. (Xinhua/Liang Guangyuan)
A 5.5-magnitude earthquake that struck southwest China's Guizhou Province on Monday has affected 23,000 people, local authorities said on Tuesday.
According to the provincial civil affairs department, as of noon on Tuesday, the number of people affected by the quake in seven townships of Jianhe County stood at 23,018, 10,000 more than the department reported on Monday afternoon.
More than 2,500 people have been relocated as over 1,500 buildings were damaged. In addition, 17 hospitals and four medical institutions were also wrecked by the quake.
The quake caused direct economic losses of 120 million yuan (about 19.5 million U.S. dollars), according to the department.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs has sent 1,000 tents, 2,000 sleeping bags and 2,000 folding beds to the region.
