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 ... during the quakes, which also toppled hundreds of livestock sheds and vegetable greenhouses," a spokesman with the regional Department of Civil Affairs was quoted as saying.

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