More than 8,000 students in the downtown areas of Shunchang
County, east China's Fujian Province, have been?evacuated from
school after an earthquake hit the county on Tuesday morning.
Two tremors measuring 4.7 and 4.6 on the Richter scale hit the
county at 10:22 and 10:23?AM respectively on Tuesday,
according to China's earthquake monitoring network.
Residents flooded into the streets after they felt the quakes. A
couple of houses on Shuang'xi street in the county seat collapsed,
and some livestock were killed. But no people have been reported
injured or dead, said Huang Xiangrong, deputy head of the Fujian
seismological bureau.
The quake was felt across the province - residents reported
shaking houses and rattling windows, Huang said.
"The students will stay at home until further notice from the
county earthquake headquarters," said Yu Minghui, head of the
county education bureau.
"Students in the countryside are not evacuated, because school
buildings are generally safer than their rural apartments, Yu
said.
Huang said there was little chance of bigger earthquakes, but
minor tremors were still likely to occur. The bureau has dispatched
its staff to the scene and is closely monitoring the area.
Most residents have returned home or back to work but a few
remain on the street for fear of ensuing tremors.
(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2007)