5.3-magnitude quake jolts northeast China

Beijing: A moderate earthquake of 5.3-magnitude jolted a city in northeast China`s Jilin Province on Friday, damaging some houses.

The epicentre of the quake that hit the Songyuan city was determined to be at a depth of eight kilometres, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the China Earthquake Networks Centre as saying. 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, the report said. "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 said. Li said his fellow villagers ran out of their homes out of fear that their houses would collapse. "I was at work and felt my desk shaking," said Fan, a resident in provincial capital Changchun.