Sichuan

Forty-seven people were buried in a landslide in China's southwestern Yunnan province on Monday, state media reported.

The landslide took place at 5:51 am (2151 GMT Sunday) in Zhenxiong County, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing local authorities.

The strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the Sichuan province in China on Monday has so far claimed 65 lives while leaving 248 people injured and 12 missing, local media reported on Tuesday.

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 has shaken Southwest China. At least 13 people have died in Sichuan province, the BBC reported.

A 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern China on Monday, according to the US Geological Survey.

The quake hit around 43 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the city of Kangding in Sichuan province at a depth of 10 kilometres, the USGS said.

There were no immediate reports of any casualties.

Tremors were felt in the nearby megacity of Chengdu, a resident told AFP.

Hydroelectricity production fell 50% in the province of Sichuan, which provides 21% of China’s hydropower

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated to safer areas by Monday as heavy rains brought flood risks to a region of southwest China that for most of the summer was devastated by a heatwave and drought.

China's autumn harvest is under "severe threat" from high temperatures and drought, authorities have warned, urging action to protect crops in the face of the country's hottest summer on record.

Brush fires have forced the evacuation of more than 1,500 people in southwest China and power rationing for factories has reportedly been extended as weeks of record heat and drought batter the region.

China says it will try to protect its grain harvest from record-setting drought by using chemicals to generate rain, while factories in the southwest waited Sunday to see whether they would be shut down for another week due to shortages of water to generate hydropower.

To prevent power outages, authorities in Sichuan province, which relies on hydropower, have ordered factories to halt operations