Mild quake occurs in southwest China, no casualty

Chengdu (China), Dec 29 (Xinhua) An earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale jolted southwest China Monday, but there were no reports of casualty, officials said.

The quake hit Sichuan province at 2.18 p.m. and was centred in the bordering region between Qingchuan county and Jiangyou city, the provincial earthquake administration said.

Though the tremor was not so powerfult, it was clearly felt in the provincial capital of Chengdu, more than 200 km away from its epicentre, the administration said.

There were not reports of casualties or damage to properties, but the quake caused power cut in a town in Qingchuan.

Sichuan was the scene of China's worst earthquake in many decades when an 8.0-magnitude tremor March 12 hit the province and neighbouring regions, killing 70,000 people and affecting some 42 million people. The quake left a trail of destruction over a region of 40,000 sq km area. Post-quake rebuilding is still underway.