Three quakes hit, but no casualties reported

Source: Agencies  |   2008-7-6  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

AN earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale jolted east China's Fujian Province at 9:36am yesterday, and moderate aftershocks are expected, China's seismological authorities said.

It was one of three quakes reported yesterday, with others in Japan and in the sea off Russia.

The epicenter of the China quake was located along the boundary of Xiamen and Longhai cities at 24.53 degrees north and 117.93 degrees east, according to the China National Seismological Network.

A 10-strong team dispatched by Xiamen's earthquake survey center arrived at the scene half an hour later. Two teams from the provincial earthquake administration were also sent to the epicenter and regions nearby.

Some Xiamen residents fled from their homes to open areas during the tremor, but calm prevailed, authorities said. No casualties or damages to buildings had been found at the epicenter.

Experts said that chances of a stronger earthquake were slim, but they would not rule out the possibility of aftershocks measuring about four on the Richter scale.

A 7.5-magnitude quake occurred over sea of Okhotsk at 10:19am yesterday, according to a bulletin released by the Hong Kong Observatory.

The epicenter was initially determined to be 53.9 degrees north latitude and 153.0 degrees east longitude, about 380 kilometers west-northwest of Petropavlovsk-kamca, Russia.

There had been no reports of casualties or damage by late yesterday.

Meanwhile, Tokyo and its environs were shaken by a moderate quake, also without reports of injuries or damage, officials said.

Japan's Meteorological Agency said no tsunami warning was issued.

The magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck at 4:49pm and was centered off the coast of Ibaraki, about 140 kilometers north of Tokyo, the agency said.

A police source in Ibaraki said there were no reports of damage or injuries.

"I felt strong tremors, but nothing fell off the shelves in my office," he said.