A strong aftershock early Sunday rattled areas still reeling from a massive earthquake in China, while fears of flash flooding and landslides hindered rescue efforts as the death toll continued to rise.
The flood fears sent thousands of people fleeing in panic Saturday from areas near the epicenter of last week's devastating earthquake. Chinese officials, meanwhile, said the official death toll from the earthquake had risen to 28,881 people with 198,347 injured.
Sunday's 6.0-magnitude aftershock shook the region near the border of Sichuan and Gansu provinces just after 1 a.m., the U.S. Geological Survey said in a preliminary report. Thousands of aftershocks have plagued the area since Monday's deadly 7.9-magnitude earthquake, whose epicenter was over Wenchuan county Sichuan province's Wenchuan county.
There was no immediate information on the impact of the quake.
Just hours earlier, concerns over a damaged dam and rising water levels at two lakes triggered the mass evacuation of 30,000 people -- including rescuers and journalists -- in at least 10 villages and townships, Chinese officials said. Watch thousands of Chinese evacuate the epicenter
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CNN's Wen-Chun Fan contributed to this report.
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All About U.S. National Earthquake Information Center • China • Sichuan Province • Wen Jiabao
All About China • Earthquakes • Sichuan Province