The local seismological monitoring center said there were more than 90 aftershocks, with the biggest one measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale, on Tuesday in the province's mountainous Dayao County. About 30 aftershocks took place by press time Thursday.

An official at the center, who wished to remain anonymous, refused to comment on the situation, telling China Daily that experts from the central and provincial governments have been busy analyzing the frequency of the aftershocks.

But a local civil affairs official said the frequency is abnormal.

"The aftershocks are too many and abnormal," said Zheng Jiawen, the civil affairs director of Dayao County.

Based on the data gathered, no major earthquake is likely to happen in the region in the near future because the intensity of the after quakes is reducing, said Gu Guohua, senior researcher at the Analysis and Forecast Center under the China Seismological Bureau.

"But it's still really difficult for us to predict earthquakes and aftershocks from a scientific point of view," said Gu.

(China Daily July 25, 2003)