(Yicai Global) Aug. 10 -- A 6.6-magnitude earthquake in Jinghe has prompted the relocation of tens of thousands of people and inflicted estimated direct economic losses of USD22.5 Million (CNY150 million), Jinghe County, Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture in China's northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region announced at a press conference yesterday.

As of 12.00 a.m. yesterday, 32 people were injured (including three seriously injured) with no one killed. By 4.00 p.m., 307 rooms had collapsed and 5,469 rooms cracked. Pastures remained unaffected. By establishing relief tents, relocating kindergartens, schools and village cultural positions and relocation to nearby areas, 10,500 people in total have moved.

After the temblor struck, local authorities immediately started to repair facilities to ensure the normal supply of water and power and keep roads clear. All levels of hospitals, civil affairs, fire departments and police immediately deployed rescue workers and materials to arrive in the hardest-hit regions to rescue the wounded and clear the scene. Communications and water, gas and power supplies have all resumed, while relief efforts are underway as planned.

A seismologist said that the epicenter is 37 kilometers southwest of Jinghe and the earthquake resulted from seismic movement along the Kusongmuxieke mountain front fault. With a large magnitude and shallow quake focus, the temblor was felt strongly near the epicenter. A 6.5-magnitude earthquake and a 6.1-magnitude one occurred in this epicenter in 1955 and 1973, respectively. This seismic event was a major-aftershock earthquake, the seismologist preliminarily opined.

As the early hours of Aug. 10, Xinjiang's earthquake bureau registered a total of 214 earthquakes, of which the largest was a 4.7-magnitude aftershock.