A 5.1-magnitude earthquake has jolted Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the epicenter of the quake that happened 1:27 pm Friday was located in a depth of 12 kilometers. Another 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit the same area 12 minutes later, at the same depth. The tremor was felt in Tianshan District in downtown Urumqi.

Some schools in the city organized an emergency evacuation and have notified parents to pick up their children as soon as possible.

According to some residents, communications were temporarily interrupted and they were unable to make phone calls for a time. As of 2 pm, the emergency response headquarters of the regional seismological bureau had dispatched three teams to survey the scene.