An earthquake measuring 5.0 on
the Richter scale jolted China's northeastern Jilin Province on Friday and no
casualties have been confirmed so far.
The quake struck at 8:23 p.m. on Friday with the epicenter in Laoyingtai
Village located across Qian'an and Qian'guo counties in Songyuan City, about 200
km north of the provincial capital of Changchun, according to Zheng Yaqin,
deputy head of the seismological bureau of Changchun City.
The quake, followed by two aftershocks, has a strong destructive force, said
officials with the bureau.
Cracks can be seen on the walls of a number of houses in the village and some
warehouses have collapsed.
Rescuers are working at the site and seismological experts are rushing to the
epicenter area.
The quake has been felt by residents of most parts of Jilin and some regions
in the neighboring provinces of Liaoning and Heilongjiang, and the northern
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
