The trio of earthquakes that have occurred in Yunnan Province this year may indicate that a larger earthquake may strike as the seismic zone in Southwest China becomes increasingly active, an expert has said.

A 6.6-magnitude earthquake in Jinggu county, Southwest China's Yunnan Province has killed one person and injured 324 people, said the local government on Wednesday. The earthquake is the third quake with a magnitude greater than 6.0 this year in Yunnan.

A total of 124,600 people in Jinggu and four nearby districts and counties were affected and 59,000 people were evacuated. There are a total of 310,000 residents in Jinggu county, said the Yunnan's civil affairs department.

The quake also severely damaged 61,524 buildings, 6,507 of which were destroyed.

The quake hit at 9:49 pm on Tuesday at a depth of five kilometers below the epicenter in Jinggu county, which is under the administration of the city of Pu'er.

According to preliminary investigations, the quake has resulted in economic losses of more than 1.7 billion yuan ($277 million) to Pu'er.

Communication services have been restored as of Wednesday. Water, power and transportation infrastructure have all been undergoing emergency repairs, according to a statement from Jinggu county's publicity department.