Authorities rushed relief goods, including tents, to the region after a powerful, shallow earthquake struck southwestern China near the Myanmar border, killing at least three people and injuring more than two dozen others.

A second 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck early Saturday in central China's Qinghai province, about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) north of the first.

Roads in Maduo county were destroyed, but there were no reports of casualties. Multiple smaller tremors were reported by China's earthquake administration as aftershocks persisted through Saturday morning.

Jonathan Tytell, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey, said the two quakes were unrelated.

The quake hit 8 kilometers (5 miles) beneath the surface northwest of Dali, according to the Yunnan province seismological bureau, with a magnitude of 6.4.

Shallow quakes, particularly in populated areas, often cause more damage.

The earthquake shook Dali violently, but there was little damage according to Chinese news sources.

Local authorities told state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday that three people died and 27 were injured.

Provincial officials were sending emergency rations and tents to the affected areas as part of their relief efforts.

A magnitude 5 earthquake struck Yunnan last year, killing four people and injuring 23 others.

In 2008, the deadliest earthquake in modern Chinese history hit the mountainous western portion of Sichuan province, north of Yunnan, killing nearly 90,000 people.