6.5 magnitude quake jolts mountainous region of western China

Beijing: A strong earthquake shook a mountainous region in western China near a famous national park on Tuesday evening, with no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.5 quake struck a region bordered by the provinces of Sichuan and Gansu at a depth of just 9 kilometers (5.5 miles). Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones.

The China Earthquake Networks Center measured the quake at magnitude 7.0 and said it struck at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles). The quake occurred at about 9:20 p.m. near Jiuzhaigou, or Jiuzhai Valley, a national park known for spectacular waterfalls and karst formations, the Chinese agency said.

The area is located on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau in northern Sichuan province, home to many Tibetan and other ethnic minority villages.

The epicenter struck about 39 kilometers (24 miles) from the county of Jiuzhaigou, which has a population of around 80,000, in an area that's 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) above sea level. It was 285 kilometers (177 miles) from Chengdu, the densely populated capital of Sichuan province, according to the Chinese center.

The Chinese center also said that the earthquake was followed by a tremor measuring 3.3 in magnitude at a depth of 9 kilometers about 20 minutes later.