At least 47 people died and about 300 were injured after a 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit north-western China's Gansu province early Monday, the government and state media said, dpa reported.
The quake shook homes in Gansu's Minxian and Zhangxian counties at 7:45 am (2345 GMT Sunday) and was felt in nearby cities, the Gansu Seismological Bureau reported.
The US Geological Survey estimated the magnitude at 5.9 while initial reports by the China Earthquake Networks Centre and the Gansu provincial seismological bureau estimated it at 6.6.
At least 45 people died in Minxian county, while the quake destroyed some 380 homes and seriously damaged 5,600 others in Zhangxian county, the seismological bureau said.
Electricity was cut in five townships of Zhanxian and several railway lines were damaged, it said.
Local governments mobilized hundreds of soldiers, police and civilians to help with rescue work, state media said.
The International Red Cross said staff from its Chinese branch were on their way to Gansu and would send initial relief supplies including 200 tents and 1,000 "family kits" of basic household items.
"Heavy rain is forecast in the disaster-hit area, which is likely to affect rescue and relief efforts and pose dangers of landslides," the International Red Cross said.
"The two counties at the intersection of which the quake epicentre was located, Minxian and Zhangxian, are still recovering from weeks of torrential rain and flooding, increasing residents' vulnerability in face of this fresh disaster," it said.
The rescue work was also hampered by nearly 400 aftershocks, including a 5.6-magnitude quake at 9:12 am, reports said.
The epicentre was about 180 kilometres south-east of the provincial capital, Lanzhou, and some 1,200 kilometres west of Beijing.