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CHINA-EARTHQUAKE
Three dead in 5.4-magnitude quake in Xinjiang: state media
BEIJING, March 24, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – A 5.4-magnitude earthquake that struck
in China’s western Xinjiang region before dawn Wednesday left three people
dead, damaged roofs and forced the evacuation of hundreds, state media
reported.
The earthquake hit Baicheng county in the northwestern Aksu prefecture at
5.14 am, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.
Footage showed buildings swaying in the dark, leaving some houses with
their roofs caved in afterward.
“The earthquake caused three deaths and 65 houses were damaged,” state
broadcaster CCTV reported, adding that there were 10 aftershocks of which the
largest magnitude was 3.4.
After houses and livestock sheds collapsed, leaders of an affected village
set up a temporary resettlement site.
China is regularly hit by earthquakes, especially in its mountainous
western and southwestern regions.
In February 2003, a powerful 6.8-magnitude quake killed 268 people in
Xinjiang and caused significant damage.
Following Wednesday’s earthquake, train services between regional capital
Urumqi and areas such as Hotan and Aksu were delayed, the official Xinhua
news agency reported.
A powerful 7.9-magnitude quake in southwest China’s Sichuan province in
2008 left 87,000 people dead or missing.
BSS/AFP/IJ/1644 hrs