Beijing: A powerful 6.6-magnitude quake on Saturday jolted northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, including the provincial capital Urumqi.
The quake injured 34 people and causing wide spread damage besides trapping 120 people in a landslide.
The earthquake, which hit a mountainous area along the border of Hejing and Xinyuan counties at 0507, toppled 104 houses and damaged 4,735 others, the China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC) said.
Strong tremors were felt widely in Urumqi and in the region, shaking residents out of their beds and causing temporary power blackouts.
The epicenter was found to be in a mountainous area along the border of Hejing and Xinyuan counties, CENC said.
A large number of residential houses were toppled or damaged in Xinyuan County, and hundreds of cattle were killed after their sheds collapsed, a statement from the government of Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, which administers Xinyuan said.
The quake also triggered landslides and caused cave-ins on several national and regional highways in Xinjiang, bringing traffic to a halt.
A landslide on National Highway 217 has trapped 120 people, the CENC said.
Local authorities earlier reported that the quake also destroyed several animal holding pens, killing hundreds of cattle, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The CENC has launched a level-three emergency response following the quake. The Ministry of Civil Affairs has dispatched 2,500 tents and 12,500 quilts to quake-hit areas.
Losses and damage resulting from the quake are still being assessed and relief efforts are under way, the ministry said.
Experts said the quake-hit region, located about 3,500 meters above sea level, has been geologically active throughout history.
Two earthquakes measuring higher than 7 on the Richter scale have jolted the region since 1900. (PTI)
