Quake wrecks havoc in China

BEIJING, China -- Thousands of people are fighting hunger, cold and disease in a remote area of China's Sichuan province after a strong earthquake destroyed their homes and killed three people, a local official said on Monday.

Friday's tremor, measuring 6.0, injured 109 people and affected 49,000 others, leaving some 20,000 of them homeless, the rescue official said.

MESSAGE BOARD Central American quake    MAGNITUDE GUIDE Below is an interactive guide to earthquake magnitude and severity: Magnitude: Less than 3.5 3.5 - 5.4 Under 6.0 6.1 - 6.9 7.0 - 7.9 8 or greater

"Most of them had to sleep in the streets," he said. "We are doing our utmost efforts not to let anybody die of starvation, cold or disease."

A series of aftershocks had hit the mountainous region populated mainly by ethnic Tibetans living in low wooden houses, he said.

"There are no further reports of casualties or injuries," he said. "We do hope it's the end of the nightmare."

The quake also seriously damaged roads, water supplies, power and telecommunications, causing about 200 million yuan ($24 million) worth of damage.

Xinhua reported the quake rocked Yajiang and Kangding counties at 8:09 a.m. (0009 GMT) on Friday and was felt in 20 towns.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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