An excavator works on debris of houses to search for bodies of victims at the quake zone in Ludian county, Zhaotong, Yunnan province, August 5, 2014. An earthquake in China on the weekend triggered landslides that have blocked rivers and created rapidly g
IN PHOTO: An excavator works on debris of houses to search for bodies of victims at the quake zone in Ludian county, Zhaotong, Yunnan province, August 5, 2014. An earthquake in China on the weekend triggered landslides that have blocked rivers and created rapidly growing bodies of water that could unleash more destruction on survivors of the disaster that killed 410 people, state media reported on Thursday. REUTERS/Wong Campion REUTERS/Wong Campion

At least one person has died after a strong and shallow 6.0 magnitude quake rattled a remote area in China's southwestern province of Yunnan on Tuesday. The temblor had injured 300 others and displaced hundreds as it damaged buildings and other infrastructure.

Aftershocks continue to be felt in the province, which China's official Xinhua news agency said is close to the borders with Myanmar and Laos. The quake, which had a depth of 10.1 kilometres (6.3 miles), struck a region known for its tea plantations.

Jinggu county was recorded as the epicentre. It is some 85 kilometres from Pu'er city. Yunnan's provincial capital of Kunming likewise felt the temblor. According to the People's Daily, Jinggu county has a population of about 300,000 people, mostly ethnic minorities.

Li Anqin, a resident from Weiyuan, told Xinhua News Agency they heard a loud cracking sound as the building they were in shook terribly. "Plates fell off in the kitchen... We all ran out and the streets now are packed with people."

Xinhua reported the quake destroyed 7,000 buildings. Radio Free Asia reported an 8-centimetre-wide (3-inch-wide) crack has been also found in a nearby reservoir dam. Authorities are currently assessing the risk to the dam and seeing about repairs, China Post reported.

Apart from the dam and homes, the quake also damaged at least 100 school buildings. Xinhua, citing a local official, reported immediate repairs are badly needed on at least 170,000 square metres of school buildings.

With the region, albeit fortunate to have had little rain recently, the risk of accidents and deaths due to landslides have been greatly reduced. The number of displaced people was over 124,000. People however are huddled outside with no shelter.

"There has been nothing [in the way of relief supplies] so far," Radio Free Asia quoted a village official in Jinggu county. "The thing we really need most are tents, because everyone's houses have been damaged."

The official added people opt to stay outside under the open sky because of fear. "It's very difficult without tents."

Many houses had collapsed and authorities are currently the casualties, a local official told Xinhua. "The aftershocks seem non-stopping." The central government had deployed 3200 troops, over 800 firefighters and 35 sniffer dogs to help in the search and rescue operations.