5.1-magnitude quake hits Northeast China

SHENYANG - A 5.1-magnitude earthquake jolted the border region of Liaoyang and Shenyang, in Northeast China at 12:18 pm Wednesday (Beijing Time), the China Earthquake Networks Center has said.

The epicenter, with a depth of about 7 km, was located near Liaoyang's county-level city of Dengta and Sujiatun District of Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province, at 41.5 degrees north latitude and 123.2 degrees east longitude.

Liu Wenlong, mayor of Dengta, said the city government had not received any reports about casualties or house collapses. But cracks were spotted in houses in some townships.

No casualties or house collapses have been reported in Sujiatun either.

Residents in Shenyang said they felt the quake, which lasted around 20 seconds.

According to the China Earthquake Administration, people in Shenyang and its surrounding areas felt strong tremor during the quake. Tremors were also felt in cities of Liaoyang, Jinzhou, Panjin, Tieling, Yingkou, Benxi, Fuxin and Chaoyang in Liaoning Province as well as in the neighboring Jilin Province's Siping, Liaoyuan and Changchun.

Mobile communication in areas around the epicenter was affected, it noted.

Experts with the Liaoning Provincial Earthquake Bureau are studying the possibility of further tremors.