Powerful earthquake hits two provinces of China

The US Geological Survey said that the origin of the earthquake was near the city of Dali and at shallow depth of 10 kilometers.

Aftershocks were observed on Saturday morning, with multiple smaller tremors recorded by China's earthquake administration. More than 20,000 people have been evacuated, the Yunnan government said.

Two people were confirmed dead after the earthquake in the mountainous province, local officials said in a statement in the early hours of Saturday, adding that at least 17 others had been injured and were receiving treatment.

The provincial government of Yunnan said some buildings had collapsed and others had been damaged, and that the "disaster situation was undergoing further verification."

The China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) warned people to "stay away from buildings" in a post on a social media platform.

In October 2014, the same area was hit by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake after which 100,000 people were displaced.

It is to be noted that the country's worst earthquake in recent years was in the mountainous western portion of Sichuan province in 2008 when almost 90,000 people died.