7 dead after powerful quake shakes southwest China

BEIJING (AP) — A strong earthquake has killed at least seven people, triggered landslides and shaken residents in a major city under lockdown in southwestern China. The 6.8 magnitude earthquake jolted Luding county in Sichuan province at a shallow depth, which can potentially cause major damage. Sichuan is regularly hit by earthquakes, mainly in mountainous, lightly populated areas. One resident of the provincial capital, Chengdu, says she hid under a desk in her 31stt floor apartment. China’s deadliest earthquake in recent years was a 7.9 magnitude quake in 2008 that killed nearly 90,000 people in Sichuan. The epicenter of Monday’s quake is in a mountainous area about 125 miles southwest of Chengdu.