Moderate 4.9 Quake Hits Western China

BEIJING – The U.S. Geological Survey says a moderate earthquake registering magnitude 4.9 has struck China's far western Xinjiang region.

A staffer who answered the phone at Xinjiang's geological bureau said there had been no reports of damage or injuries in the thinly populated region.

The quake struck Saturday morning and was centered just east of the town of Qoqek, known as Tacheng in Chinese, close to the border with Kazakhstan.

China's worst earthquake in recent years hit the southwestern province of Sichuan last May. The magnitude 7.9 quake left almost 90,000 people dead or missing.