More than 4,500 people affected in NW China earthquake

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-27 13:46

URUMQI -- An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale, which jolted northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Sunday, has affected more than 4,500 people and caused house collapses and damages, regional authorities said Monday.

In total, 4,549 people in the Xibe Autonomous County of Qapqal and Zhaosu County were affected. They have been relocated to schools, government buildings and tents, said a regional civil affairs department official.

No casualties have been reported so far.

A total of 198 houses collapsed and 2,928 were damaged. The direct economic loss was estimated at 21 million yuan (3.1 million U.S. dollars), he said.

The earthquake occurred at 9:47 a.m. in Qapqal, 700 km from the regional capital Urumqi. The epicenter was at 43.3 degrees north latitude and 80.9 degrees east longitude at a depth of 10 km, the China Earthquake Administration said Sunday.