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Earthquake Shakes Up China

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake shook part of central China on Saturday, killing at least 14 people and injuring nearly 400. The official Xinhua News Agency said the quake was also felt in northern Jiangxi Province, eastern Hubei Province, southern Anhui Province, northwestern Zhejiang Province and northeastern Hunan Province.

The quake hit at 8:49 in the morning, and was followed around 20 minutes later by two aftershocks. The area where the quake hit is mainly rural, where structures are not built to withstand such an earthquake. The quake`s epicenter was only 6.2 miles deep, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. Many people are scared to return home even to collect food or clothes, and the government was encouraging people to spend the night in the open air, although temperatures could become very cold.

Some 130,000 homes were damaged in the worst hit Jiujiang and Ruicheng counties, while 420,000 people moved to safer areas. Emergency officials rushed tents to the zone to shelter the homeless and earthquake specialists flew down from Beijing. Earthquakes centered closer to the Earth`s surface are generally more intense and can cause more damage.