Mild Quake Shakes North China; No Damage Reported A moderate earthquake has sent ripples across the north China plain, shaking buildings in Beijing but leaving no reports of damage or injuries. The quake that struck at 10:22 a.m. Monday was centered 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Beijing. It was listed at magnitude 4.7 by the U.S. Geological Survey and 4.8 by the Beijing Earthquake Bureau. At the epicenter in Luan county, operators at several hotels said guests staying on upper floors felt the buildings sway. People in Beijing took to Chinese versions of Twitter to say buildings shuddered. An earthquake in the same region in 1976 was one of China's deadliest. Located near the city of Tangshan, the quake left more than 240,000 dead.