The quakes, measuring 6.1 and 5.8 on the Richter scale, jolted areas between Minle and Shandan counties of Gansu's Zhangye city late Saturday.

One more body had been discovered by Monday afternoon, raising the death toll to 10, the official China News Service said, adding that 43 people were injured.

In Minle, the worst affected county, eight people died, eight were seriously wounded and 27 others were lightly injured, said Jiang Laifeng, an official from the seismological department.

In Shandan county, the other affected county, two people died and seven were injured, said An Peihong, an official from the Shandan county seismological bureau. Of the wounded, six were seriously hurt.

Reports said economic losses were estimated to be around 327 million yuan (39 million US dollars), with 46,491 households affected, 14,322 homes destroyed, 45,950 more damaged and 16,200 heads of livestock killed.

A total of 175 villages were hit with many of them without electricity and water supplies as temperatures plunged below freezing.

The Xinhua news agency said more than 200 tents have been sent to the quake-hit area, but the Minle county official said 10,000 tents were needed in that county alone to shelter the homeless.

"The victims are struggling to get by on makeshift tents," he said.

But another official from Minle county said the final death toll will not be much higher.

"There's no one missing in our county. Everyone has been accounted for," the official, Ren Yankuan said.

TERRA.WIRE