Quake fears drive China city residents outdoors

BEIJING (Reuters) – Rumors of an imminent earthquake have
driven people from their homes in a northeast Chinese city
where they are sleeping outdoors in temperatures below
freezing, residents said on Tuesday.

Taps in Harbin city are also being turned off on Tuesday
for four days due to possible water contamination after a blast
in a chemical plant, Xinhua news agency said, which has added
to panic buying of food and bottled water.

Rumors of an earthquake in Harbin, the capital of northeast
Heilongjiang province with a population of around nine million,
started on Sunday, the Beijing News said.

“We’ve heard there would be a quake stronger than 6.0 on
the Richter scale in the province tonight and many rich people
have left,” resident Zhou Jicai told Reuters by telephone.

A spokesman for the local seismological bureau said the
Rumors were triggered by a government effort to educate the
people on what to do in the event of an earthquake, the Beijing
News said.

The spokesman, Liu Dan, said there had been some abnormal
seismic activity in the area but that did not mean an
earthquake was imminent.

“A few individuals have spent the nights in outdoor tents
and have hoarded food. It is totally unnecessary,” Liu was
quoted as saying. “The likelihood of a big quake is very
small.”

Xinhua said water supply would be cut off for four days in
Harbin due to possible river contamination caused by a recent
chemical plant explosion.

“Bottled mineral water, beverages, and even milk were sold
out in big supermarkets such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour,” the
China Daily said.

Earthquakes are common in China. A quake struck Daqing,
about 160 km (100 miles) northwest of Harbin, in July, injuring
a dozen people.