No casualties reported yet after 6.9-magnitude quake hits Qinghai

XINING - No casualties have been reported so far after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake jolted Menyuan Hui Autonomous County in Northwest China's Qinghai province at 1:45 am Saturday, according to a press conference held by the information office of the provincial government early Saturday morning.

The epicenter was monitored at 37.77 degrees north latitude and 101.26 degrees east longitude. The quake struck at a depth of 10 km, the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) said.

After the quake occurred, the province has activated a Level II emergency response, the second highest in China's four-tier earthquake emergency response system, according to the provincial department of emergency management.

There are five villages within the 5-km range around the epicenter. An initial investigation showed that no casualties or property damage have been reported yet, said Guo Yong, deputy director of the provincial department of emergency management, adding that firefighters have been sent to the affected areas for rescue.

The quake was obviously felt at Menyuan Hui Autonomous County as the epicenter is about 53-km away from the county seat, said Ma Honglong, an official with the county's publicity department. Citizens in Xining, the provincial capital which is about 136-km away from the epicenter, also felt the tremor and rushed to the outside open field.

The Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) has also initiated an emergency disaster relief response.

A work team was dispatched to Qinghai by the ministry and China Earthquake Administration to support local people to check out the disaster situation, settle affected residents and forecast the trend of the disaster, according to the MEM Saturday.

The epicenter was located at an area about 3,659 meters above sea level and with a sparse population, the ministry said.