143,800 people affected by 6.0-magnitude earthquake in China

About 143,800 people have been affected and more than 2,453 houses toppled after a 6.0-magnitude quake jolted northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region Tuesday morning, local authorities said Thursday. The quake rocked the border area of Yining and Gongliu counties in the Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Ili at 8:21 a.m., knocking down several corrals and damaging nearby houses, officials with the region's earthquake administration said. No casualties have been reported so far. A total of 63,600 houses have been damaged, with 25,100 of them damaged severely, resulting in direct economic losses of 358 million yuan (56.4 million U.S. dollars), local officials said. Many schools in the affected areas suspended classes after the quake. More than 400 relief teams have been dispatched to quake-stricken areas to guide rescue and recovery work. All the affected people have been evacuated to safe areas. Epidemic prevention work has also been launched in the quake-hit counties.