5.5M quake hits Tibet, no casualties

BEIJING - An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter Scale hit Nyima County of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region at 1:10 a.m. (Beijing Time) Monday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

The epicenter was monitored at 31.4 degrees north latitude and 86.5 degrees east longitude with a depth of 10 km, the center said.

There have so far been no reports of casualties or property damage, Migmar Cering, governor of Nyima County, Nagqu Prefecture, told Xinhua by telephone.

He added that the county government has sent two work groups to the epicenter to further check the conditions.

Migmar Cering said the epicenter lied between two townships, but the tremor was strongly felt in the county seat and many residents were awaken from sleep.

Nyima, with an altitude of over 5,000 meters, is a quake-prone region. It administers 14 townships though its northern part is uninhabited.