Airport authorities said 34 flights were cancelled, 98 delayed and 30 landed at alternative airports, Xinhua news agency reported.
A rainstorm has hit the city from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. Again from 10.30 a.m., heavy rain pelted through the city, forcing the airport to temporarily close both of its runways twice.
Sichuan has been battered by heavy rain this summer. Meteorological authorities have warned the public to be prepared for potential disasters as the rain continues.
As of 9.30 a.m., the quake has also left 175 others injured, the official told Xinhua news agency.
The quake jolted Jiuzhaigou county, a popular tourist destination, at 9.19 p.m. at a depth of 20 km.
At least five deaths reported immediately after the quake were those of the visitors to Jiuzhaigou, the publicity department of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture that administers the county, said.
Sangey, a worker at the popular Jiuzhaigou tourist site, told Xinhua on telephone that some houses in the scenic area collapsed or cracked in wake of the powerful quake. Authorities were evacuating the residents.
There were reported house collapses in towns like Heihe, Shuanghe and Anle, the department said.
Li Changyong, head of the Jiuzhaigou county health and family planning bureau, said the quake was strongly felt in the county seat, 35 km from the epicentre and many residents rushed out of buildings.
According to the latest information, five people are killed and 90 were injured of which 30 were in serious condition, said China's official news agency Xinhua.
The China Earthquake Networks Centre measured the quake at magnitude 7 and said it was 20 km deep. It said said the quake occurred around 9.20 p.m. near Jiuzhaigou or Jiuzhai Valley, a national park known for spectacular waterfalls and karst formations.
All the dead were visitors to the popular tourist destination of Jiuzhaigou in the epicentre of Zhangzha town, Jiuzhaigou County, said the publicity department of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture that administers the county
The US Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 6.6 and said it struck 200 kilometre west northwest of Guangyuan in Sichuan province at a depth of 32 km, South China Morning Post reported.
The Sichuan earthquake administration said the epicentre of the tremor was in Ngawa prefecture, largely populated by ethnic Tibetans.
Sangey, a worker at the popular Jiuzhaigou tourist site, told Xinhua on telephone that some houses in the scenic area collapsed or cracked in wake of the powerful quake and authorities are organising young people to help evacuate residents.
There were reported house collapses in towns like Heihe, Shuanghe and Anle, the department said.
Li Changyong, head of the Jiuzhaigou county health and family planning bureau, said the quake was strongly felt in the county seat, 35 km from the epicenter, and many residents rushed out of buildings.
As a part of efforts under the nationwide "toilet revolution" campaign, management at the People's Park in Chengdu city started providing free toilet paper in all its stalls on April 8, the Global Times reported.
However, park authorities found that the first batch of 1,500 rolls of paper disappeared in seven days, according to Chengdu Business Daily.
Feng Huiling, secretary of the park's Party branch, told the daily that an investigation found that 30 bathroom stalls were emptied of paper in just one hour. Toilet paper use far exceeded expectations.
The toilet paper thieves may cost the park up to 100,000 yuan ($14,520) a year, said Feng, adding that some tourists were caught dismantling toilets' pedal flush handles to "sell them for money".
Feng said that if the problem continues, they may follow the example of Beijing's Tiantan Park and install machines with face scanners to regulate use, reports the Global Times.
Tiantan Park, home to the Temple of Heaven, introduced six high-tech dispensers that give out toilet paper only after conducting a facial scan.
The pilot programme began after Tantan authorities faced an increasing number of local residents raiding the park's restrooms for toilet paper.
Tourists now must allow the machine to scan their faces before it dispenses a 60-cm serving of toilet paper.
The software will deny the same person another helping of toilet paper within nine minutes of their first scan.
The satellite "Fengyun-II 08" will collect meteorological, maritime and hydrological data and transmit information that will be used for weather forecasting and environment monitoring, Xinhua reported.
Both the "Long March 3A" rocket, which was used to propel the satellite into space, and the satellite were made by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
The previous satellite, "Fengyun-II 07", was launched Jan 13, 2012.