Updated 12.20

Two strong, shallow earthquakes have killed at least 75 people in China - 81 others have been injured.

State media says more than 400 have been injured and thousands of homes destroyed.

The quake hit near the city of Dingxi in Gansu province, a region of mountains, desert and pastureland with a population of 26 million.

That makes it one of China's more lightly populated provinces, although the Dingxi area has a greater concentration of farms and towns with a total population of about 2.7 million.

The deaths and injuries were reported in Min County and other rural southern parts of Dingxi municipality, the provincial government said in a statement posted on its official microblog.

Residents described shaking windows and swinging lights but only minor damage and little panic.

Shaking was felt in the provincial capital of Lanzhou 110 miles north, and as far away as Xi'an, 250 miles to the east.

"You could see the chandeliers wobble and the windows vibrating and making noise, but there aren't any cracks in the walls," said a front desk clerk at the Wuyang Hotel in Zhang County, about 25 miles from the epicentre.

"Shop assistants all poured out onto the streets when the shaking began."

The quake was shallow, which can be more destructive. Officials said it struck about 12.4 miles beneath the surface, while the Gansu provincial earthquake administration said it was just 3.7 miles deep.

Dingxi is about 766 miles west of Beijing.

The rescue effort is being slowed by mud and rock slides.

NZ aftershocks

Meanwhile, hundreds of aftershocks have continued to hit New Zealand after a powerful earthquake between both islands downed power lines and toppled masonry.

The 6.5 quake is one of dozens recorded on Sunday.

A tremor in February 2011 killed 185 people in Christchurch on the South Island.

Radio New Zealand's Alison Hossain says people are on edge: