8 a.m. local time Saturday, China's Sichuan province was slamed by a strong earthquake (magnitude-6.6 ) which left more than 150 people and injured thousands in the same region where a 2008 quake took nearly 90,000 lives.

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The crisis occured in the mountainous Lushan county, Sichuan damaged buildings, caused landslides and phone and power connections suspended. 

The area is located just 53 miles from the 2008 disaster and is also on the seismically active Longmenshan fault line.

The China Earthquake Administration said at least 156 people had died, including 96 in Lushan. In the jurisdiction of Ya'an, which administers Lushan, 19 people were reported missing and more than 5,500 people were injured, the administration said.

The quake's shallow depth, less than 8 miles, likely magnified the impact.

The first night after the quake, rain slowed rescue work. Forecasts called for more rain in the next several days, and the China Meteorological Administration warned of possible landslides and other geological disasters.

State media showed images of collapsed buildings, roads blocked by fallen rocks and hundreds of people seeking medical attention at a makeshift triage center outside the county hospital in Lushan, located at the edge of the Tibetan plateau.

China's Communist Party leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang ordered "all possible measures" to rescue victims, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency. More than 7,000 soldiers and armed police were sent to the disaster area as well as more than 1,000 provincial rescue workers and hundreds of doctors.