Xinjiang's quake zone hit by snowstorm

HALAJUN. April 24. KAZINFORM. Xinjiang's quake-jolted area was hit by a snowstorm Thursday, according to a Xinhua reporter at the site; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.

Overnight sleet turned into a snowstorm Thursday morning. Snow piled up to 40 centimeters in the mountainous area 1,400 km to the southwest of Xinjiang's capital of Urumqi, according to the reporter. The township official said 257 houses were damaged in the quake, leaving 5,780 people homeless. The victims have been temporarily sharing rooms in neighborhood houses. "We have prepared instant noodles and mineral water for them," said Bi, calling for help for more disaster relief goods like tents, quilt and food. The temperature is about 7 degree Celsius. The quake struck at 5:26 p.m. and the epicenter was at 40.1 degrees north latitude and 77.4 degrees east longitude, the Xinjiang Seismological Network reported. On Sunday, a 5.5-magnitude quake jolted Akqi County, also in the prefecture, which affected 15,000 residents and damaged thousands of houses. No casualties were reported; Kazinform cites Xinhua. See news.xinhuanet.com for full version.