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Global

China quakes damaged more than 2,000 houses


    BEIJING (Reuters) - At least a dozen earthquakes hit China's remote northwestern region of Xinjiang on Friday, flattening or damaging more than 2,000 houses, but no casualties had been reported so far, Xinhua news agency said.

    It said 44,000 people had been "affected" by the quakes,but gave no details.

    "About 2,200 houses were damaged or flattened ... duringthe quakes, which also toppled hundreds of livestock sheds andvegetable greenhouses," a spokesman with the regionalDepartment of Civil Affairs was quoted as saying.

    China is hit by several earthquakes a year, most hittingsparsely populated rural areas and causing no casualties

    (Reporting by Nick Macfie; Editing by Bill Tarrant)