BEIJING, China (CNN) -- An earthquake capable of causing major damage shook(zz)

central China on Monday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

It registered a magnitude of 7.5, the survey said.

Two more earthquakes -- measuring 6.0 and 5.4 magnitudes -- happened nearby over
the next hour, the USGS reported.

China's state-run CCTV reported no serious damage in Chengdu, a city of more
than 10 million that is about 60 miles from the epicenter, in the eastern part
of China's Sichuan province.

"This is a very dangerous earthquake," said Bruce Presgrave, a geophysicist with
the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake has the potential to cause major damage because of its strength and
proximity to major population centers, he said. In addition, the earthquake was
relatively shallow, Presgrave said, and those kinds of quakes tend to do more
damage near the epicenter than deeper ones.

The ground shook as far away as Beijing, which is 950 miles (1,528km) from the
epicenter. They felt "a very quiet rolling sensation" that lasted for about a
minute, according to CNN correspondent John Vause.

"Our building began to sway," he said.

Thousands of people were evacuated from Beijing high rises immediately after the
earthquake.

The first earthquake happened at 2:28 p.m. local time (2:28 a.m. ET), the USGS
said.

The earthquake was also felt in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan, and as far away as
Hanoi, Vietnam, and Bangkok, Thailand, according to the Hong Kong-based
Mandarin-language channel Phoenix TV.