The Hebei earthquake administration said no destructive earthquake is likely to happen in the province in the near future, according to a statement issued on Feb 22.

Rumors that a destructive 6.0-magnitude quake would strike some cities of Shanxi province on Feb 21 also influenced the neighboring cities of Shijiazhuang, Baoding, Xingtai, and Handan in Hebei province.

Zhang Yuegang, director of the Earthquake Forecast Center of the Hebei Earthquake Administration, said so far there are no signs of any destructive earthquake activity and added that the provincial government has not released any earthquake forecast.

Only the State Council and provincial-level governments are authorized to issue earthquake forecasts, he said.

By Guo Changdong