10 injured after quakes in NE China

CHANGCHUN - Ten people were injured when two earthquakes shook Songyuan city in Northeast China's Jilin province on Thursday morning, said local government authorities.

The seriously injured have been sent to local hospitals.

A 5.5 magnitude quake hit the city at 11:03 am. The epicenter, at a depth of eight kilometers, was at 44.6 degrees north latitude and 124.2 degrees east longitude, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.

A 5.0 magnitude quake at a depth of six kilometers hit the same area at 11:10 am.

The epicenter is Dongbaiyinhua village, where telecommunications have been cut off, according to an officer from Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County.

As of 3 pm, the houses of over 4,100 homes had been damaged with another 55 destroyed in Chaganhua Town. Economic losses were estimated to about 130 million yuan(about $21.33 million).

Local authorities have relocated about 14,400 residents in Chaganhua Town.

The Qian Gorlos Mongol autonomous county government said all kindergartens and schools will be closed from Thursday afternoon to Friday.

The earthquakes were felt in most parts of Jilin Province and some cities in the neighboring Heilongjiang Province. So far, there have been no reports of deaths.

The Jilin provincial government has allotted 500,000 yuan in disaster relief fund to the quake-hit region. Relief teams have been sent to the region.