Magnitude 6.8 earthquake hits Russia's Siberia
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E-mail Xinhua, February 27, 2012
A 6.7-magnitude earthquake jolted Russia's southwestern Siberia on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The Siberian regional branch of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry confirmed the quake in the Siberian Tyva republic near Mongolia.
"The earthquake was registered at 10:17 Moscow time (0617 GMT)," the branch said, adding that the epicenter was some 107 km east of the city of Kyzyl, capital of Tyva Republic.
The branch said it has not received any reports so far about possible casualties and damage in the region.
The Altai-Sayany branch of Russia's geophysical service said the quake's epicenter, with a depth of 10 km, was determined to be at 51.72 degrees north latitude and 95.89 degrees east longitude.
The service measured the quake magnitude at 6.7-6.9, without giving more details.
According to Russian media, the quake lasted for four to five minutes and was widely felt in the region.
The Siberian branch added that the quake was also felt in Tyva's neighboring regions, including Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk, Omsk and Irkutsk.
It was the second powerful quake that has hit Tyva in recent months. In December, a 6.7-magnitude quake rocked the Kaa-Khemsky district, some 100 km east of Kyzyl, causing no damage or casualties.
