rescue. The earthquake happened in a remote and sparsely populated area on the Tibetan plateau. The area is regularly hit by earthquakes. "In a flash, the houses went down. It was a terrible earthquake. In a small park, there is a Buddhist tower and the top of the tower fell off," he said. "Everybody is out on the streets, standing in front of their houses, trying to find their family members." Zhuo De, an ethnic Tibetan resident of Yushu, who spoke by phone from the capital of Qinghai province, Xining, said there could be many more casualties. "The homes are built with thick walls and are strong, but if they collapsed they could hurt many people inside," he said. The remote high-altitude region is prone to earthquakes, butofficials from the US Geological Survey said this was the strongest quake within 100km of the area since 1976. Residents of Yushu fled their homes after the quake The region, which is home to ethnic Mongolians and Tibetan farmers and herdsmen, is dotted with coal, tin, lead and copper mines. After the Sichuan quake, five million people were left homeless, and officials estimated rebuilding work would take at least three years. The government later punished people who had compiled lists of the victims and had suggested shoddy school-building was partly to blame for the high death toll. Are you in the area? Have you been affected by the quake, or have you seen or heard anything? Send your comments using the form below. You can also send your