Abnormal aftershocks have occurred in southwest China's Yunnan
Province following Monday's earthquake which killed at least 16
people and injured another 584.
The local seismological monitoring center said there were more than
90 aftershocks, with the biggest one measuring 4.3 on the Richter
scale, on Tuesday in the province's mountainous Dayao County. About
30 aftershocks took place by press time Thursday.
An
official at the center, who wished to remain anonymous, refused to
comment on the situation, telling China Daily that experts from the
central and provincial governments have been busy analyzing the
frequency of the aftershocks.
But a local civil affairs official said the frequency is
abnormal.
"The aftershocks are too many and abnormal," said Zheng Jiawen, the
civil affairs director of Dayao County.
Based on the data gathered, no major earthquake is likely to happen
in the region in the near future because the intensity of the after
quakes is reducing, said Gu Guohua, senior researcher at the
Analysis and Forecast Center under the China Seismological
Bureau.
"But it's still really difficult for us to predict earthquakes and
aftershocks from a scientific point of view," said Gu.
(China Daily July 25, 2003)
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