More than 8,000 students in the downtown areas of Shunchang County, east China's Fujian Province, have been evacuated from school after an earthquake hit the county on Tuesday morning.

Two tremors measuring 4.7 and 4.6 on the Richter scale hit the county at 10:22 and 10:23 AM respectively on Tuesday, according to China's earthquake monitoring network.

Residents flooded into the streets after they felt the quakes. A couple of houses on Shuang'xi street in the county seat collapsed, and some livestock were killed. But no people have been reported injured or dead, said Huang Xiangrong, deputy head of the Fujian seismological bureau.

The quake was felt across the province - residents reported shaking houses and rattling windows, Huang said.

"The students will stay at home until further notice from the county earthquake headquarters," said Yu Minghui, head of the county education bureau.

"Students in the countryside are not evacuated, because school buildings are generally safer than their rural apartments, Yu said.

Huang said there was little chance of bigger earthquakes, but minor tremors were still likely to occur. The bureau has dispatched its staff to the scene and is closely monitoring the area.

Most residents have returned home or back to work but a few remain on the street for fear of ensuing tremors.

(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2007)