A paramilitary policeman carries a baby in his arms after an earthquake hit Ludian county of Zhaotong, Yunnan Province, Aug. 3, 2014. (Photo : Reuters)
A 6.4-magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale jolted Menyuan County of Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province, northwest China, on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 1.13 a.m.
A report from China Earthquake Network Center (CENC) indicated that the epicenter was monitored at 37.68 degrees north latitude and 101.62 degrees east longitude. The epicenter had a depth of 10 kilometers.
According to China Daily, an aftershock measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale was reported shortly after the first quake. There are no reports yet concerning the casualties.
Menyuan County of Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture has approximately 150,000 residents. For now, telecommunication services in the country are normal.
A local resident in the Menyuan County, Ma Wulong, said, "The tremor lasted one to two minutes . . . with a rumbling noise."
Meanwhile, the deputy head of a forestry farm in the region, Li Zhanqing, said that armed police officers and medical practitioners in Menyuan County had already been mobilized by the time he arrived at the downtown Menyuan.
The same publication reported that tremors were as well felt in Xining, the capital city of Qinghai Province, and in the neighboring province of Gansu. According to witnesses, many scared local residents ran outdoors and some took refuge in cars amid a blood-curdling temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius.
One man surnamed Han in Xining said: "I was waken up from sleep by the jolt. The table and the closets were all shaking violently, so I just got dressed and ran outside."
