All residents in the quake- stricken area of north China's Shanxi Province have been moved into temporary housing or tents to shelter them from the sub-zero temperatures.

So far, only one minor injury and no deaths have been reported from Monday evening's earthquake, recorded at 5.6 on the Richter scale, which occurred in the area between Hunyuan County in Shanxi and Yangyuan County in Hebei Province.

"The earthquake has damaged dwellings and school buildings," said Liu Wenzhong, a teacher in the area, "so we have divided the students into different groups to have classes at different times. " Some classrooms believed to be safety hazards have been closed, he added.

The local government has sent food and other necessities as well as medical teams to the area, said local officials.

Several aftershocks measuring 4.0 have rumbled through the region.

The earthquake at 9:15 p.m. (Beijing Time) on November 1 caused extensive damage to 291 older houses in Hunyuan. And some 3,000 homes were reported to have structural cracks and loose bricks or tiles, according to official reports.