Residents stay outside at the Yangguang Meiju residential area in quake-hit Jinghe County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 9, 2017. A 6.6-magnitude earthquake jolted Jinghe County Wednesday morning. (Xinhua/Liu Xia)
URUMQI, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- A 6.6-magnitude earthquake jolted Jinghe County in Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang at 7:27 a.m. Wednesday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).
The epicenter was monitored at 44.27 degrees north latitude and 82.89 degrees east longitude. The quake struck at a depth of 11 km, the center said in a statement.
Residents in the regional capital of Urumqi, cities of Karamay and Yining, some 400 km to 200 km away from Jinghe, felt strong tremors.
Most people in Urumqi were sleeping when the quake occurred. The shuddering jolt that lasted about 20 seconds woke many up.
Northwest Xinjiang's Jinghe County has a population of about 140,000.
