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Three strong earthquakes struck Northern China's Jilin province on Friday and Saturday, severely damaging 5,302 houses and affecting 58,301 individuals, the China Earthquake Networks Centre reports.
The first earthquake, measuring a magnitude 5.3 on the Richter scale, hit at 4:18 pm on Friday, followed by 5.8-magnitude earthquake at 6:04 am on Saturday and a 5.0-magnitude quake at 6:32 am.
The three severe ground movements were reported in the Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County and its border with Qianan County.
"The epicenter of the quake was determined to be at a depth of eight kilometers," says state-run Xinhua news agency, quoting the China Earthquake Networks Centre.
Chinese seismologists report that the three quakes were shallow and occurred at a depth of eight or nine kilometers. Such earthquakes are more destructive. No fatality has been reported as of press time, but rescuers continue to search the area for the injured.
Rescuers are having a hard time checking damages and attending to injured people because the affected areas are covered by thick fog with temperatures dropping to ten degrees below zero.
Residents in the earthquake-hit areas fear a huge earthquake could take place and cause severe injuries after a milder quake that hit the area last week injured at least 12 individuals.
The Xinhua news agency reports that some villages have lost power. State TV also has shown severely damaged houses with collapsed roofs and walls.
Last September, two earthquakes struck southwest China's Yunnan Province, destroying at least 45 religious sites and 109 schools, authorities said.
According to the religious affairs administration of the Deqen, some 20 religious sites were severely damaged. The sites were mostly Tibetan Buddhist Temples.
In April, about 200 people died when a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Sichuan province. Five years ago, a huge earthquake in the same province killed nearly 9,000 individuals.
