The Ministry of Emergency Management announced Wednesday that a level-III national emergency response has been initiated after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

At 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, an earthquake shook Ya’an City’s Lushan County (Beijing Time). According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the epicentre was located at 30.37 degrees north latitude and 102.94 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 17 kilometres.

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According to the ministry, a work team has been despatched to guide and help local emergency rescue activities.

Local firemen have arrived at the epicentre, and quake rescue teams from Sichuan and adjacent provinces are ready to assist with relief efforts, according to the ministry.

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Lushan County in April 2013, killing 196 people and injuring roughly 11,500 more. The deadly 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, which occurred along the same fault line, also struck Yaan.

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Damage to the walls of several houses was shown in video and photos shared online by local locals, as well as individuals rushing out into open spaces.

So according to official broadcaster CCTV, Beijing has authorised a level three emergency response, the third-highest in China’s four-tier structure.

As according to CCTV, a local rescue squad has arrived at the epicentre, and hundreds of national emergency responders are on their way.