Friday August 25 10:04 AM ET
China Quake Damage Said Widespread

BEIJING (AP) - An earthquake earlier this week in southwest China injured hundreds and left 177,000 homeless, a government official and a state-run newspaper said Friday.

Chinese seismologists initially had said there were no reports of casualties or damage in the magnitude-5.1 quake Monday in Wuding county, Yunnan province.

But the official from Wuding country and the China Daily on Friday both described damage as widespread.

Quoting what he said were the latest figures, the official said 211 people were injured in the earthquake, one seriously, and 177,457 people had lost their homes. Most of these people have since been rehoused in tents, he added.

The quake destroyed 321 schools, 19 reservoirs, 56 bridges and a power station. Economic losses totaled $43 million, he said.

The China Daily reported that at least 406 people were injured, eight seriously, and one woman in a nearby county was killed when she fell while trying to climb out of her home during the quake.

Wuding officials, however, said the figure of 406 included people who had fallen sick after the quake from sleeping outside.