Strong earthquake hits southwest China

[Heidi]

Source: Reuters

Mon May 12, 2008 3:03am EDT
BEIJING (Reuters) - An earthquake measuring 7.5 rocked China's Sichuan province on Monday, less than 100 km (60 miles) from the provincial capital of Chengdu, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties or damage from the tremor which the USGS earlier put at 7.8.

The tremor, centered 92 km northwest of Chengdu, was felt as far away as Beijing and Shanghai and the Thai capital Bangkok, where office buildings swayed with the impact.

<snip>

In Beijing's financial district, many workers poured from their buildings but there were no visible signs of damage. The subway system was unaffected.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSPEK23117420080512

[puerco-bellies]

1. I just e-mailed a buddy that took a job over there.

Hopefully he will respond soon. I can't remember which city he is living in, but it is in the northern interior.

[Heidi]

2. Yep. Just emailed my girlfriend in Beijing.

Hope everyone's safe.

:hi: p-b!

[xioaping]

8. City in that region must have big damage but not Beijing

When I went used to travel to Chengdu a few years ago is still looked like very old style construction. Not like modern cities in China now have. I think it was a very big earthquake and that it will be a lot of damage unless something more phenomial that a 7.8 earthquake happens.

[Shoelace]

23. "Chengdu was spared damage"

Reports suggested that the quake has spared the major city of Chengdu, which is 146 kilometres away and caused no damage to the world's biggest dam, the Three Gorges Dam, which is several hundred kilometres away.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China_quake_7600_dead_death_toll_to_rise/articleshow/3033893.cms

[xioaping]

25. Thank you for information about Chengdu

I guess we all know now that many tragedy has taken place from this earthquake.

[Shoelace]

27. yes, it is their biggest earthquake in 30 years

and my prayers are with the families of the victims, the thousands of injured (10,000+ at last count) and I hope your family, friends are safe too.
What a couple of weeks it has been. a cyclone in Myanmar, a category 5 typhoon near Japan, deadly tornadoes in our country and now this terrible, tragic earthquake in China.

[puerco-bellies]

28. My buddy e-mailed me back. He is in Shenyang.

He did not even hear about the quake till today.

[funflower]

3. Lots of quakes around the Pacific Rim and in weird places in North America lately.

Not just Japan (as usual) and China, but Reno and (really weird) Illinois. :shrug:

[puerco-bellies]

4. There are always lots of quakes.

The earth's crust is very dynamic. We are more aware of quakes due to greater detection and communications capability.

[4_TN_TITANS]

24. I don't buy the business as usual thing...

I'm 37 and had never felt an earthquake before. Felt two now in the last several years - in Tennessee.

[DRoseDARs]

6. NV is the 3rd-most active in US after CA, AK; IL is hit by the New Madrid & Wabash seismic zones...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Madrid_Seismic_Zone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabash_Valley_Seismic_Zone

None of it is odd per se, but for us here in the Reno area this cluster isn't behaving normally. Normal clusters fade, this one keeps going and larger quakes come.

Edit: I'm sorry, I meant Nevada is third after Alaska (1st) and California (2nd).

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. First casualty reports: 4 children dead in 2 schools

China in 'all-out' quake effort

...

Four children are reported to have died when two schools collapsed.

More than 100 children were injured, Xinhua added, quoting the local government.

Chengdu has a population of more than 10 million people. State television said the quake had not caused major damage to the city or to the nearby Three Gorges Dam.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7395496.stm

[Hugin]

7. That's a pretty strong one.

Looks like there's been a couple of aftershocks already too.

Edit: Couldn't get the link to work.

[Heidi]

9. UPDATE | MSNBC | Report: China quake buries nearly 900 students

7.8 temblor in Sichuan province felt as far away at Vietnam and Thailand
BEIJING, China - A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck mountainous western China on Monday, burying nearly 900 students in Sichuan province, Chinese state media reported.

The Xinhua News Agency did not immediately give any other details or say if any of the students were thought to be alive.

<snip>

The quake struck 60 miles northwest of the Sichhuan provincial capital of Chengdu at 2:28 p.m., the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site. It said the quake was centered 6.2 miles below the surface. The area has a population of about 110,000 residents, according to Xinhua. The huge temblor was felt as far away as Vienam and Thailand.

<snip>

The quake was felt as far away as the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, where some people hurried out of swaying office buildings and into the streets. A building in the Thai capital of Bangkok also was evacuated after the quake was felt there.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24573168/

[MaineDem]

10. 'Hundreds buried' by China quake

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7395496.stm

Almost 900 students have been buried by collapsed buildings during an earthquake in south-western China, state media reports.

President Hu Jintao has called for "all-out" efforts to rescue victims of the quake which had a magnitude of 7.8.

The quake struck 92km (57 miles) north-west of Sichuan's provincial capital, Chengdu, at 1428 (0628 GMT).

Premier Wen Jiabao is travelling to the area and troops are being sent to help with disaster relief efforts.

Full details of the incident which buried 900 students are not available.

[Dead_Parrot]

11. Some nasty aftershocks rumbling in, too...

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Maps/10/105_30_eqs.php

[Shoelace]

22. Three Gorges Dam, not too far away?

yes, I was just looking at the list and I expect to see many more aftershocks.
Did you see the population density map on USGS? Many souls in grave danger.

The quake happened in Sichuan province so am concerned about the dam. Here's one map I could find:




Here's another map showing Chongqing (quake was 225 miles WNW of that city):

[tekisui]

12. 107 fatalities, 2300 cell phone towers knocked down....

Early reports and telephone interviews suggested that Chengdu had been spared any significant problems, but officials were struggling to assess the full scope of the damage in Wenchuan and elsewhere because of the disruption in communications caused by the earthquake. More than 2,300 cell phone towers were knocked down by the quake, according to China Mobile, the country’s top carrier.

Xinhua, the official news agency, said the 107 fatalities were spread across Sichuan, neighboring Chongqing Municipality as well as in Gansu and Yunnan provinces. Damage is believed to be especially severe in Dujiangyan, a county of 600,000 people located near the epicenter. One local official described rows of collapsed houses, Xinhua reported.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/world/asia/13china.html?ref=world

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. Between 3,000 and 5,000 dead according to new estimates

'Thousands dead' in Chinese quake

Between 3,000 and 5,000 people have been killed by an earthquake measuring 7.8 in one county of Sichuan province in south-western China, reports say.

There are also thought to be almost 900 students buried beneath the rubble of a middle school.

President Hu Jintao has urged "all-out" efforts to rescue victims of the quake.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7396400.stm

[Bitten]

18. i just read 7,600. i am stunned

[Shoelace]

21. 8,500 now but that count will continue to rise

this is horrid. Mama Earth is on a rampage!


http://www.wacotrib.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/communities/breakingnews/entries/2008/05/12/china_earthquake_death_toll_ov.html

[Bozita]

14. 80% of buildings in one county have been toppled -- MSNBC update

That's an incredible number.

[AngryAmish]

15. Way to go, Bush!

[grantcart]

16. kick

[Lone_Star_Dem]

17. China quake kills 7,651 in Sichuan province: Xinhua

BEIJING (Reuters) - The earthquake that hit China's southwestern Sichuan province on Monday killed 7,651 people in that province alone, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday, citing the provincial government.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSSP23973420080512?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&sp=true

[Pachamama]

19. I have a bad feeling that '08-09 is going to be marked by lots of strong earthquakes & devastating

natural disasters like this earthquake and the cyclone that hit Burma....And the world will get to watch how the poor and unfortunate who have governments who don't care about them let them die....

Sigh.... :cry:

[Jennifer C]

20. Update from CNN

8,300

[trashcanistanista]

26. MSNBC now reporting 9,000 dead. n/t

[wickerwoman]

29. Up to 12,000 now

and likely to increase since the infrastructure is screwed and it's pouring rain.

I felt this quake in Shanghai almost 1,500 miles away. They evacuated our building for more than two hours. Can barely walk now from climbing down 29 flights of stairs.

China's emergency response is usually pretty good but Sichuan is really mountainous and relatively poor.

Hope that they can get more of these kids out OK and find shelter for everyone.

[Heidi]

30. UPDATE | MSNBC: China: Quake left 18,000 buried in one city

Official temblor death toll stands at nearly 12,000, but figure likely to rise
The Associated Press
updated 8:07 a.m. ET May 13, 2008
DUJIANGYAN, China - Rescue workers were digging through flattened homes and schools Tuesday in a desperate search for victims of China's worst earthquake in three decades. Authorities said nearly 12,000 people were killed and more than 18,000 are missing.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Chinese rescue workers reported that 18,645 people remain buried under debris in Mianyang city. Mianyang neighbors the epicenter of Monday's massive, 7.9-magnitude quake.

Xinhua said that 3,629 people have been confirmed dead in Mianyang. It was immediately clear whether those figures are included in the official death toll of 11,921 so far.

<snip>

But Wang, the disaster relief official, said international aid workers would not be allowed to travel to the affected area.

"We welcome funds and supplies, we can't accommodate personnel at this point," he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24589987/

[Shoelace]

31. 1950 Aftershocks in 25 hours!

that's pretty usual for quakes of that magnitude but imagine feeling an aftershock every few minutes!


BEIJING: A strong aftershock on Tuesday rocked a southwestern Chinese province still reeling from a devastating earthquake, sending panicked office workers running into the streets, state media said.

The tremor, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, shook Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, at around 3:10 pm (0710 GMT), the Xinhua news agency said.

The region, which is historically prone to earthquakes, has suffered more than 1,950 aftershocks in the past 25 hours, experts from the China Earthquake Networks Centre said, according to Xinhua.

They included three that registered more than six on the Richter scale and 14 of between five and six, according to Xinhua.



http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/347429/1/.html