An earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter scale hit Xigaze Prefecture of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region at 9:47 a.m. on Thursday, the regional seismological bureau said.

No casualties have been reported as yet.

The epicenter was 122 km north of Zhongba County and 172 km south of Gerze County, at 30.8 degrees north and 83.6 degrees east, said bureau chief Zhu Quan.

Zhongba County has sent 11 teams to every town and village to assess losses.

The remote county near the China-Nepal border is more than 4,700 meters above sea level and has a population of 18,000.

Zhu said the earthquake was one of the many aftershocks of a 6.8-magnitude quake that hit the county on Aug. 25. "Aftershocks generally last for a month or two, but stronger quakes are unlikely in the area."

Two weeks ago, the county was jolted by two earthquakes, measuring 5.1 and 5.2, just 14 minutes apart.

Earthquake specialists in Lhasa said the tremors and aftershocks were probably "stress adjustments" following the devastating quakes that rocked Wenchuan County in the southwestern Sichuan Province in May.

The regional earthquake bureau has sent a team of experts to Zhongba County on Thursday.

(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2008)