The 7.1 magnitude earthquake that shook the Chinese region of Xinjiang (northwest) has not left any victims so far but has caused damage to homes and infrastructure, according to preliminary reports from local authorities.
The tremor occurred at 2:09 local time (18:09 GMT), with an epicenter at a depth of 22 kilometers, and mainly affected the county of Wushi of the prefecture of Aksuaccording to him China Seismological Network Center.
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The earthquake was followed several replicasthe highest of them being 5.3 degrees, indicated the institution.
The Seismological Agency of Xinjiangquoted by the newspaper ChinaDailylocated the epicenter about 50 kilometers from Wushiwith five towns located within a 20-kilometer radius.
According to the newspaper, two homes and several stables collapsed in the epicenter area, where partially interrupted the electricity supply, which has already been restored.
The affected area is located in a mountainous region close to the border of China with Kyrgyzstan where the temperature last night was about ten degrees below zero.
The shock was noticeable in several cities in Xinjiang as Kashgar, Hotel and the capital, Urumqiin which even the highest floors of the buildings shook, according to residents’ testimony to local media.
“I thought the earthquake was going to throw me out of bed.”“, he stated Cao Yanglongwho was staying during a business trip on the 21st floor of a hotel in Aksu.
Local and provincial authorities have already sent rescue teams and emergencies to the epicenter area and keep 800 people, 182 vehicles and 32 search dogs mobilized in case their action is necessary.
On December 18, at least 151 people lost their lives in a earthquake of magnitude 6.2 that shook the provinces of Gansu and Qinghaiin northwest China, where it also left serious damage to infrastructure and more than 200,000 homes destroyed.
The December earthquake was the deadliest recorded in the Asian country since the one that occurred in August 2014 in the southern province of Yunnanwhich caused 617 deaths.
