1 killed, 2 injured in E China quake

BEIJING - Friday's earthquake in East China's Jiangsu province has left one person dead and two people injured as of noon Saturday, according to a statement from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The ministry said 13 houses collapsed and another 155 houses were seriously damaged by the quake, adding that statistics are still being verified.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC), a 4.9-magnitude earthquake hit the city of Yangzhou at 8:11 pm Friday.

The epicenter was monitored at 33 degrees north latitude and 119.6 degrees east longitude with a depth of 5 km, putting it at the border between the city of Gaoyou and Baoying county in Yangzhou, according to the CENC.

A total of 53 aftershocks had been detected as of 7:30 a.m. Saturday, most of which were of a lower scale, with only four measuring between three to four magnitude, said Zhang Zhenya, deputy director and spokesman for the Jiangsu provincial earthquake bureau.

Seismic experts predict that a devastating earthquake is unlikely to occur, Zhang said.