Drill not cause of quake rumor

Authorities in northern Shanxi province yesterday denied that Sunday's earthquake rumor was sparked by an emergency drill.

Rumors that a destructive 6.0-magnitude quake would strike the cities of Jinzhong, Changzhi, Jincheng and the provincial capital Taiyuan on Sunday morning sent tens of thousands of people fleeing outside into the freezing cold.

The People's Daily Online reported that people used loudspeakers to wake their neighbors in some villages. Locals were told that they should get out of bed and leave their houses to avoid injury in the earthquake.