Magnitude 6.3 Quake Shakes Western China
July 01, 2012; 2:53 PM
A magnitude 6.3 quake rocked Western China early Saturday morning (2107 GMT on Friday), near the Kazakhstan border.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at 6.3, while China's Earthquake Networks Center placed it at 6.6.
At least 34 people were injured, but there have been no deaths reported, according to the Associated Press.
The quake, centered 94 miles southwest of Shihezi in the Xinjiang province, was relatively shallow at 6.1 miles beneath the earth's surface.
"This earthquake, though shallow in the earth, should not cause much in the way of damage to infrastructure," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert.
The earthquake damaged buildings and cut off electricity to the Xinjiang region in western China, and also toppled a few building in the region's capital, Urumqi, according to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency. The earthquake triggered multiple landslides, one of which hit a major highway in the Xinjiang region and trapped 120 people, Xinhua
"Most towns in that area are far smaller than the ones off to the east. It also occurred in some mountainous terrain close to Kazakhstan, so it likely was not felt by many," Reppert said.