A magnitude-5.8 earthquake struck Akqi County in the Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture of Kizilsu, located in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at 12:14 p.m. Sunday (Beijing Time), according to authorities.
The earthquake's epicenter was recorded at 41.15°N latitude and 78.41°E longitude, with a depth of 11 km. It was situated 24 km from the county seat of Akqi and 68 km from Wushi County in Aksu Prefecture. While the areas surrounding the epicenter are sparsely populated, the tremors were strongly felt in both Akqi and Wushi counties.
Residents reported noticeable shaking. One Akqi resident living on the fourth floor shared, \"The furniture in my house was visibly shaking, and I could feel the ground shaking when running into the yard. I feel a little scared after two consecutive days of earthquakes with magnitudes of more than 5.\"
As of 1 p.m. Sunday, local authorities confirmed that there were no casualties or collapsed buildings.
The State Grid Akqi Power Supply Company reported that the main grid and power distribution networks are operating normally. Additionally, local train services remain unaffected by the quake.
This recent earthquake follows a magnitude-7.1 tremor that jolted Wushi County and its surrounding areas on January 23, as well as multiple quakes in neighboring Akqi County, including a magnitude-5.3 earthquake on Saturday morning.
Gao Mengtan, an expert at the Institute of Geophysics of the China Earthquake Administration, explained that aftershocks from earthquakes with magnitudes of 7 or higher typically last from one month to several months, with their frequency gradually decreasing over time.
