A four-year-old boy and his grandmother were killed on Sunday and up to 200 people were injured when a 6.0 magnitude earthquake destroyed buildings in Malawi's northern Karonga district.

Another quake struck the southwestern region in neighboring Tanzania, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, but initial reports indicated no serious damage or injuries.

The Malawi quake, which occurred at 0119 a.m. local time (6:19 p.m. EST) and was 9.4 miles deep, was the latest in a series of tremors in the uranium-rich Karonga district this month. On December 8 a one-year old was killed.

"Two people have died, a 4-year old child and his grandmother after the house they were sleeping in collapsed on them," police spokesman Enock Livasoni told Reuters.

He said up to 200 people may have been hurt, adding damage to villages was extensive, with numerous schools and government buildings affected.

He said people were afraid to stay in the area, fearing further quakes and because cracks have developed in the ground.

Some 3,000 Malawians continue to live in makeshift shelters following structural damage to their homes in previous quakes.

The government earlier this week asked for help from the public to help cater for the displaced by providing food, blankets and tents.

Output at Australian Paladin Energy's, Kayelekera uranium mine was not affected by the quakes.

"The mine is designed to withstand earth movements greater than what is the current range," Neville Huxman, a Paladin spokesman, told Reuters.

In 1989, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake killed at least nine people and injured 100 in central Malawi and made 50,000 homeless, according to the USGS.

The 6.2 magnitude Tanzanian quake hit 84 miles south of the town of Mbeya, at a depth of 6.2 miles.

"Upto now, there are still no reports of damage or injury. It was in Kyera district and Mbeya. You could feel the tremors but no buildings fell down," said the regional police commander of Mbeya, Advocate Nyombi.