Thirty-two people have died, more than 400 injured and over 100,000 homes destroyed or damaged after an earthquake hit Sichuan and Yunnan provinces around 4:30 pm on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The epicenter of the 6.1-magnitude quake, which has affected 500,000 people, was about 30 km southeast of Panzhihua city, near the Sichuan-Yunnan border, the China Earthquake Administration (CEA) said.

Staff members of a local hospital clear the ruins hit by the earthquake in Lixi Township, Huili County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 31, 2008.(xinhua)

Firefighters try to rescue a buffalo from debris in quake-hit Panzhihua, Sichuan province Sunday August 31 2008.(xinhua)

Sichuan reported 27 deaths and the other five were in Yunnan.

Liu Jie, chief forecaster of the Chinese Seismographic Information Center, said another 6-plus magnitude quake was not expected to hit the area in the next two weeks.

More than 300 aftershocks were recorded in the quake zone as of 5 a.m. on Sunday, according to the national earthquake networks. The 5.6-magnitude aftershock that occurred at 4:30 p.m Saturday also injured more than 400 people.

According to China Daily, in Yunnan, about 440,000 people have been hit by the quake in four of its regions .

The CEA has sent rescue and relief teams to the quake-hit areas, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs has activated an emergency response mechanism.

Panzhihua's government officials have dispatched relief materials to the quake-hit areas.

Authorities have mobilized 2,000 rescue and relief workers in Huili, and sent 1,200 tents and 10 tons of food and water to the affected areas.

And the Yunnan provincial bureau of civil affairs has dispatched 3,200 tents, 1,000 quilts, 25 tons of rice and other relief materials.