An earthquake shook two small towns in southeastern Brazil early Sunday, killing a child and injuring six other people, civil defense said, according to AP. The quake, which hit shortly after midnight local time (0200 GMT), had a magnitude of 4.9, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Some 60 people were evacuated from their homes because of fear the quake may have caused structural damage, Minas Gerais State Civil Defense Sub-Lt. Israel Cabral said by telephone from the state capital of Belo Horizonte. Five-year-old Jeissiane Oliveira da Silva died when a wall collapsed in the room where she was sleeping with her twin sister, who was hospitalized. Their 7-year-old brother escaped unharmed, Cabral said. In all, some six house collapsed as a result of the quake, Cabral said. The region where the quake hit is a poor one and the houses are often precarious structures, Cabral said. Residents in the region have been reporting small tremors over the past two months, local media reported.
