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http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200806/20080619/article_363768.htm

Moderate Tremors Shake The Northwest

Created: 2008-6-19 0:51:06

TWO moderate earthquakes shook China's northwestern Qinghai Province yesterday afternoon, but no casualties have been reported, according to the China National Seismological Network.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which links Xining, capital of Qinghai, and Tibet's regional capital Lhasa was not affected, a spokesman for the railway company said.

A 5.4-magnitude earthquake shook the Hol Xil Nature Reserve in Zhidoi County in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu at 1:23pm and another quake, measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale, jolted the Tanggula Range in the Mongolian-Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi at 4:12pm.

The two epicenters are more than 250 kilometers apart.

Hol Xil is known as "no man's land" and the Tanggula region is sparsely populated.

The Hol Xil Nature Reserve, with an area of 45,000 square kilometers and an average altitude of 5,000 meters, is home to wild yaks and endangered Tibetan antelopes. No Tibetan antelopes were reported killed or injured.

Xinhua

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