BEIJING - A 5.0-MAGNITUDE earthquake on Monday struck an area of south-west China heavily damaged in a devastating quake this year, US seismologists said.

The quake hit Sichuan province just 100km north of Mianyang, a city in one of the areas worst affected by the May earthquake, according to the US Geological Survey.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the latest quake, which hit at 2.18pm.

The news came after two other tremors, with magnitudes of 4.3 and 4.9, hit the neighbouring province of Yunnan on Friday, affecting 95,000 people and leaving 19 people injured.

The 8.0-magnitude Sichuan earthquake on May 12 was the worst in a generation in China, flattening entire towns and leaving more than 87,000 people dead or missing. -- AFP