Earthquake measuring 7.8 Richter scale hits SW China

BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- A major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale jolted Wenchuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 2:28 p.m. on Monday, the State Seismological Bureau (SSB) said, revising its previous figure of 7.6.

The epicenter of the quake was located 31.0 degrees north latitude and 103.4 degrees east longitude, the bureau said.

With a population of 111,800, Wenchuan lies in the southeast part of the Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba, 146 kilometers northwest of Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan.

Wenchuan is home to the Wolong Nature Reserve, China's leading research and breeding base for endangered giant pandas.

Minutes later, at 2:35 p.m., an earthquake measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale jolted Tongzhou District in east Beijing. That quake's epicenter was 39.8 north latitude and 116.8 east longitude, according to the SSB.

Source: chinaview.cn 2008-05-12 15:35:10