5.4 quake hits northwest China

Saturday, May 29, 2010

AFP
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BEIJING : A 5.4-magnitude earthquake hit China's remote northwestern Qinghai province Saturday, the US Geological Survey said, in the same region where a strong quake killed more than 2,000 people last month.

The quake, which struck at 10:29 am (0229 GMT), was centred in Yushu prefecture, 376 kilometres ( 234 miles) south-southeast of Golmud at a depth of 50 kilometres.

The remote, high-altitude region, which borders northern Tibet, is sparsely populated.

China's seismological bureau said the quake had a magnitude of 5.7.

In April, a powerful, 6.9-magnitude quake struck the same region, killing more than 2,000 peopleand flattening thousands of homes in Yushu, an ethnically Tibetan region.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries or damage caused by the latest quake.

An official at the Yushu prefecture civil affairs bureau told AFP: "Yes, we felt the quake here. We are now trying to find the epicentre and whether it has caused any damage."