Great
Earthquakes In Diverse Places
Hundreds of houses collapse in China earthquake
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Dec 2, 2011
A moderate earthquake in northwestern China has destroyed hundreds
of homes and damaged many more, but caused no reported casualties,
the government said on Friday.
Nearly 300 houses collapsed in Kashi prefecture, in China's vast
and sparsely populated Xinjiang region, when the 5.2-magnitude
earthquake struck late Thursday, damaging nearly 2,000 more, the
Ministry of Civil Affairs said.
Nearly 1,500 people were evacuated from their homes, the ministry
said on its web site. Tents and other relief materials were being
transported to the quake-hit region.
Xinjiang is a vast region with a population of around 20 million,
of which roughly nine million are Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking
mainly Muslim ethnic minority.
A 5.4-magnitude quake struck the region in November, destroying
more than 50 houses and damaging hundreds more. An August quake of
5.2-magnitude injured at least 26 pe