Society

Japan quake won't affect Chinese mainland 'obviously'

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-11 15:34

BEIJING - The powerful earthquake that hit Japan Friday afternoon will not affect the Chinese mainland "obviously," though tremors were felt in parts of Beijing, top Chinese seismological official Chen Jianmin told Xinhua Friday.

"But most parts of the Pacific region should keep vigilant against a tsunami triggered by the quake," said Chen, director of the China Earthquake Administration, on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session in Beijing.

The 8.6-magnitude quake hit Japan's northeastern Honshu island at 2:46 p.m. local time with a depth of about 20 km, according to China Earthquake Networks Center.

The US Geological Survey earlier put the quake at 7.9 magnitude but later upgraded it to 8.9 magnitude. The Japan Meteorological Agency revised the magnitude of the quake from 7.9 to a magnitude of 8.4.

Chen said the Chinese public need not panic as Japan's quake zone and the Chinese mainland are separated by a sea area and the quake will not affect the Chinese mainland obviously.

Nevertheless, small tremors were felt in some downtown areas and suburban districts of Beijing Friday afternoon.

Some residents in several high-rise apartment buildings in northeastern part of Beijing even rushed out of their buildings for safety concerns.

A 5.8-magnitude quake jolted Yingjiang County of southwest China's Yunnan Province near the border with Myanmar Thursday afternoon, leaving at least 25 people dead and 250 others injured.