Posted on 05/12/2008 5:17:36 AM PDT by SE Mom
BEIJING - A powerful earthquake buried 900 students in central China on Monday and killed at least 107 people, as several schools and a water tower collapsed in the tremor, state media reported.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck central China, but sent thousands of people rushing out of buildings and into the streets hundreds of miles away in Beijing and Shanghai. The temblor was felt as far away as Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand.
The official Xinhua News Agency reported 107 people had died and 34 people were injured. Four children died when two elementary schools in Chongqing municipality collapsed. One person was killed when the quake toppled a water tower in neighboring Sichuan province where the earthquake was centered, Xinhua said.
Xinhua did not give any other details on the 900 buried students or say if any of the students were thought to be alive.
--- The quake struck about 60 miles northwest of Chengdu at 2:28 p.m. and there were several smaller aftershocks, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site.
--- In the Taiwanese capital of Taipei, 100 miles off the southeastern Chinese coast, buildings swayed when the quake hit. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
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 downtown. A building in the Thai capital of Bangkok also was evacuated after the quake was felt there.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake is considered a major event, capable of causing widespread damage and injuries in populated areas.
The last serious earthquake in China was in 2003, when a 6.8-magnitude quake killed 268 people in Bachu county in the west of Xinjiang.
---
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
How horrid...
Prayers up for them, especially for the children.
I may not like their government but the people are some of the nicest, most honorable people I have ever met.
I truly hope it isn’t as bad as I fear it might be.
It is...this was a large quake.
No doubt the Army will shoot at the landslide.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2008ryan.php
Magnitude 7.8
Date-Time Monday, May 12, 2008 at 06:28:00 UTC
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 02:28:00 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 31.104°N, 103.270°E
Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
Distances 90 km (55 miles) WNW of Chengdu, Sichuan, China
150 km (90 miles) WSW of Mianyang, Sichuan, China
360 km (225 miles) WNW of Chongqing, Chongqing, China
1545 km (960 miles) SW of BEIJING, Beijing, China
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 5.7 km (3.5 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters NST=228, Nph=228, Dmin=>999 km, Rmss=1.43 sec, Gp= 29°,
M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=A
Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID us2008ryan
Thanks for the link, SE Mom.
Prayers lifted for survivors still buried under the rubble...
Especially given how official numbers from China have to be multiplied by at least 10
A 7.8 earthquake is NO joke...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014670/posts
Although I did do a search- there’s another thread ongoing about the earthquake...
BREAKING- 3,000 to 4,000 killed in just ONE province..
Now reporting 3,000 to 5,000 dead. Did that include their Olympics Team?
prayers for the people of China
oh no... I was afraid the numbers would go up rapidly...
“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16, NKJV)
It will be that bad, and worse. The effects were felt for hundreds of miles from the epicenter.
Yes.
During the Great Famine between 1958 and 1961, the Chinese were hauling huge numbers of dead bodies — millions — into the mountains for mass burials. Our U-2 flights picked up the huge truck convoy movement and at first it was thought that the Chinese were preparing for war against India.
Wow- that’s amazing. Millions..
Does anyone know where China stores their nukes?
Where is the Three Gorges Dam located?
It has been estimated that the death toll was between 30 million and 40 million.
http://www.overpopulation.com/faq/famine/chinese-famine-of-1958-1961/
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/china.50/asian.superpower/three.gorges/yangtze.map.reference.jpg
Looks to be in the same neighborhood...
Thanks for the link- my knowledge of that history is...not what it should be.
BREAKING per FOX- hundreds of people buried under chemical plants that are apparently leaking hazardous chemicals into the atmosphere.
Given the size of this quake- one can’t help but wonder about 3 Gorges Dam and the nuke facilities that are nearby. Looking at the maps is unsettling.
I think that's one township.
Many early reports are wrong- sadly the numbers are likely to change as the days go on.
Seems to have had 5.0 aftershocks every 30-45min for the next 6 hours after the large quake.
FYI, a province is similar to a US state, except the governors are appointed by the central government. Sichuan province has 100m people (including Chongqing). That's roughly equal to the combined populations of California, Texas, New York and Florida. Area-wise, it's a little smaller than Texas and a little larger than California.
Prayers for all caught in this tragedy.
Thanks- I’ve been looking at various maps- it’s a huge area.
Thanks for the excellent link Tommy.
We must always remember that the Great Famine in China was completely the result of Communist totalitarianism armed with bad science. Everyone of those ~35 million people died because of Agrarian Reform. Communism is the largest killer in history, many times as bad as the Doomsday flu in 1918.
Always the main objective in these situations, and hope the best for those left behind and trapped.
He’ll be torn between this and the cyclone victims.
China is at war with the United States, they are just allowing others to do the shooting for them. FOR NOW.
Earthquake in China kills nearly 9,000
(photos at link also)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKSP24948720080512
Quake topples “80 pct of buildings” in China county
http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKPEK24743220080512
Prayers especially for the trapped. For every “miracle story” of people rescued after a week buried in rubble, how many lived a few hours or perhaps 6 days? A terrible way to go.
Thanks Ernest.
Biq Quake Takes out Mobile Network in Chengdu
PC World | Monday, May 12, 2008 | Steven Schwankert, IDG News Service
Posted on 05/12/2008 9:38:33 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2014836/posts
NO Olympics Teams there.
At least not now.
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