5.3-magnitude quake hits China's Jilin

CHANGCHUN - A 5.3-magnitude earthquake jolted the city of Songyuan in Northeast China's Jilin province on Friday at 4:18 p.m. Beijing Time, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

The epicenter was officially determined to be at 44.7 degrees north latitude and 124.1 degrees east longitude, with a depth of eight kilometers, the center said.

The epicenter was located at the juncture of Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County and Qian'an county, where two quakes of similar magnitude occurred on October 31 and left 12 people injured.

"The earthquake lasted for about 3 seconds. I felt it was more severe than the last time, and my house was partly damaged," Li Wei, a resident in Yingtu Village of Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County, told Xinhua over the phone.

Li said his fellow villagers ran out of their homes for fear that their houses would collapse.

Residents in Changchun, the provincial capital, reported feeling the quake.

"I was at work and felt my desk shaking," said a resident surnamed Fan.