The epicentre of the quake was in Yushu prefecture and struck at a depth of 24.8 kilometres (15.4 miles), the USGS said. - File Photo

BEIJING: A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck China's Tibetan-inhabited region of Qinghai Sunday afternoon, the US Geological Survey reported, in an area hit by a devastating quake last year.

The epicentre of the quake was in Yushu prefecture and struck at a depth of 24.8 kilometres (15.4 miles), the USGS said.

Yushu was the site of a 6.9-magnitude earthquake in April 2010 that left nearly 2,700 people dead and more than 12,000 injured, according to state news reports.

The region, situated on the remote Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, is largely inhabited by ethnic Tibetans.

Calls to Yushu government offices on Sunday were not immediately answered.

Xinhua news agency said the epicentre of the quake was about 185 kilometres south of Gyegu town, which was flattened by last year's earthquake that left more than 100,000 people homeless.

China Central Television said the earthquake was felt strongly in the region, but did not immediately report damages or fatalities.

The quake was not an aftershock related to last year's temblor, it added.

According to the China Earthquake Network Centre, the quake measured a magnitude of 5.2.