A powerful magnitude six-point-zero earthquake struck China's southwestern province of Sichuan at around 10:55 p.m. Monday. 

According to local news reports, the quake killed at least 12 people and injured 135. A series of aftershocks ensued, many above two-point-zero magnitude.

The China Earthquake Networks Center said the seismic center was in the county of Changning, 28-point-34 degrees north latitude and 104-point-90 degrees east longitude with a depth of about one-point-six kilometers.

Sichuan Province, which lies atop the Longmenshan fault zone, is often afflicted by tremors. In 2008, a seven-point-nine magnitude quake devastated the region, killing some 69-thousand people and leaving close to five million homeless.