Chinese earthquakes destroyed thousands of houses

Yesterday's magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Xinjiang killed 6 people, many were injured and destroyed thousands of houses.

China struck a magnitude 6.4 earthquake

According to Reuters, the earthquake happened on June 3, about 100 km from Hotan, the northwest city of Xinjiang autonomous region, China. This place is mainly inhabited by Uighur ethnic people.

The walls cracked because of the earthquake.(Photo: DBW)

The Ministry of Home Affairs said that at least 3,000 houses had collapsed or were seriously damaged. 1,000 temporary tents were sent to the area. According to Xinhua, about 50 people were injured.

"If many people gather in the same place while the earthquake happens, it could lead to serious disaster," said Sun Shihong, a researcher at the China Earthquake Network Center. However, in this case, earthquakes occurred in an area where people were not available, so the damage was not too serious.

Earthquakes often occur in China. In 2008, the earthquake struck southwestern Sichuan province, killing nearly 70,000 people.