More than 1,700 houses damaged in Xinjiang earthquake

URUMQI -- The buildings of 1,728 households were damaged in the earthquake that hit Shawan County of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China, local authorities said on Monday.

As of 2 pm Monday, the tremor had affected 6,756 people, and caused a direct economic loss of 92.23 million yuan (about $14.65 million). No casualties were reported.

An earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale hit Shawan of the Tacheng Prefecture in the north of the region at 2:42 pm Sunday.

Three teams of experts are carrying out disaster relief in 132 villages near the epicenter. Rescuers are striving to ensure transportation and power supply in the affected areas.