BEIJING: A strong 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the China-Kyrgyz border on Tuesday, with the United States Geological Survey saying it could cause major damage.
Television channels in New Delhi, India, reported that citizens reported strong tremors from the earthquake, which happened 1,400 kilometers away.
The earthquake, recorded at 2:00 a.m. local time in China’s Xinjiang region, struck 140 kilometers west of Aksu at a depth of 27 kilometers.
Shortly after, three more earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 and 5.1 and 5.0 were recorded in the area.
The USGS said casualties were possible, although there were no immediate reports in the mountainous, rural area where the quake struck.
“Significant damage is likely and the disaster is potentially large-scale,” the report said.
Tuesday’s earthquake came a day after a landslide buried dozens of people and killed at least eight people in southwest China.
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An earthquake in the northwest of the country in December killed 148 people and displaced thousands from their homes in Gansu province.
The earthquake was China’s deadliest since 2014, when more than 600 people were killed in the southwestern Yunnan province.
In December’s earthquake, sub-zero temperatures made the rescue operation launched in response even more challenging, with survivors huddling by outdoor fires to keep warm.
