No human casualties were reported, after an aftershock measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale jolted Pingwu County of Mianyang City in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Sunday morning, according to a senior county official.

An aftershock measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale jolted Pingwu County of Mianyang City in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Sunday morning, according to a senior county official.

The quake hit the region at 6:59 AM, with its epicenter at 32.2 degrees north and 104.7 degrees east. The epicenter was about 80 kilometers from Mianyang City and about 170 kilometers from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province. The aftershock had a depth of 22 kilometers.

Wang Jihui, deputy magistrate of Pingwu County said the local government organized an immediate investigation on casualties and losses in Nanba and Xiangyan townships, where the epicenter is located.

According to the investigation result, slight damages were found on 15,500 rural houses. None of the houses were toppled down, as some of the houses were built after the magnitude-8 earthquake that jolted the region on May 12 this year, the official said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2008)