Powerful earthquake shakes Northwest China

A powerful earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale jolted northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region early Saturday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. The epicenter is determined at 43.4 degrees north latitude and 84.8 degrees east longitude, a mountainous area along the border of the region's Hejing and Xinyuan counties. The earthquake was felt strongly by residents living in Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, who reported that cable TV signals were impaired and some furniture shook drastically, according to Chinese news agency (Xinhua). Some residents living in Xinyuan county reported that household electricity was cut off after the quake, and residents in a neighboring county said they were shaken out of bed by the quake. Officials of the region's Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture have sent work teams to the quake-hit area to investigate the casualties and damages from the quake.