Pre-warnings, school evacuations before 4.6-magnitude quake hits Southwest China

CHENGDU -- Residents received pre-warnings and some schools evacuated classes before a 4.6-magnitude earthquake jolted Southwest China's Sichuan province Monday afternoon.

No casualties have been reported so far since the quake hit the city of Mianyang at 3:20 pm local time. The China Earthquake Networks Center monitored the depth at 10 km.

The provincial earthquake administration said tremors were felt in the cities of Chengdu, Leshan and Meishan.

Pre-warnings were broadcast via mobile phone apps, TV channels and public loudspeakers seven seconds before the quake in Mianyang, and 25 seconds before in Chengdu, the provincial capital.

Some schools in the two cities arranged evacuations of students and teachers upon receiving the alerts, local authorities said.

Railway authorities said they launched an emergency response to impose a speed limit and block off some areas after tremors were felt on two railways, including one high-speed line.

Sichuan lies in a major seismic belt in China. In 2008, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan and neighboring Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, leaving some 87,000 people dead or missing.