Widespread damage feared as powerful quake hits China-Kyrgyzstan border

• Magnitude 7 quake jolts China-Kyrgyzstan border.
• USGS warns it could cause a lot of damage.
• Three more tremors with magnitudes 5.5, 5.1, and 5.0 were felt shortly after. 

BEIJING: A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the China-Kyrgyzstan border on Tuesday, with the United States Geological Survey saying it could cause a lot of damage.

TV channels in New Delhi, India, said that the citizens reported feeling strong jolts from the earthquake, as it happened 1,400 kilometres away.

The earthquake, recorded at 2:00am local time in China's Xinjiang region, struck 140 kilometres west of Aksu at a depth of 27 kilometres.

Shortly after, three more earthquakes were recorded in the area, at magnitudes 5.5 and 5.1 and 5.0.

The USGS said casualties were possible, though none had been immediately reported in the mountainous, rural area where the earthquake struck.

"Significant damage is likely and the disaster is potentially widespread," its report said.

Tuesday´s quake came the day after a landslide buried dozens of people and killed at least eight in the southwest of China.

A December quake in the northwest of the country killed 148 people and displaced thousands in Gansu province.

That quake was China´s deadliest since 2014, when more than 600 people were killed in southwestern Yunnan province.

In the December earthquake, subzero temperatures made the aid operation launched in response even more challenging, with survivors huddled around outdoor fires to keep warm.