Earthquake measuring 7.8 Richter scale hits SW China

Earthquake measuring 7.8 Richter scale hits SW China

A street in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, is covered by water after a water pipe blew out during an earthquake on May 12, 2008. A major earthquake measuring 7.8 Richter Scale jolted Wenchuan County of Sichuan province at 2:28 p.m. on Monday.

A major earthquake measuring 7.8 Richter Scale jolted Wenchuan County of Southwest China's Sichuan province at 2:28 p.m. on Monday.

A major earthquake measuring 7.8 Richter Scale jolted Wenchuan County of Southwest China's Sichuan province at 2:28 p.m. on Monday. The quake was also felt in the capital city of Beijing and Xinhua reporters in Zhengzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing also reported major tremors at around 2 p.m. Monday

A crevice is seen in a building in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, after an earthquake occurred on May 12, 2008. A major earthquake measuring 7.8 Richter Scale jolted Wenchuan County of Sichuan province at 2:28 p.m. on Monday.

People gather on a street in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, after an earthquake occurred on May 12, 2008. A major eathquake measuring 7.8 Richter Scale jolted Wenchuan County of Sichuan province at 2:28 p.m. on Monday.

People gather on a street in Zhengzhou, capital of north China's Henan Province, after an earthquake occurred on May 12, 2008. A major earthquake measuring 7.8 Richter Scale jolted Wenchuan County of Southwest China's Sichuan province at 2:28 p.m. on Monday. Earthquake was felt in Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu and Beijing.

The quake was also felt in Tianjin, about an hour's drive from Beijing, according to reporters from Xinhua's branch there.

Xinhua reporters in many other parts of China also reported tremors. Reporters in Chengdu said they saw cracks on the walls of some residential buildings in the downtown area, but no building collapsed.

Telecom networks in the cities of Chengdu, Chongqing and Zhengzhou were paralyzed after the quake. People complained they were unable to complete calls on either fixed lines or cell phones.

Aftershocks were felt in Chengdu within hours after the earthquake.

Cracks were seen in the walls of some buildings. The local radio station in Chengdu quoted witnesses as saying that some houses collapsed in Dujiangyan.

A water main broke beneath a viaduct near Chengdu's southern railway station, flooding downtown Changshou Road.

As of early Monday evening, the cell phone network remained outof operation in Chengdu and Chongqing Municipality.

Xinhua reporter Hai Mingwei said his apartment was a mess, with the water pipe in the washing machine broken and water flooding the floor. "Bottles of drinks were also broken and the liquid was everywhere," he said. He and his parents escaped from their home and joined crowds of people on the street.

When the quake hit, Hai said the ground felt uneven. "For a moment I thought I was dizzy and dared not walk."

Also in Chengdu, a man surnamed Wen burst into tears after receiving a phone call that said his house had collapsed in Guanghan, Sichuan.

A retiree in Leshan City, Sichuan Province, said in a telephone interview that a wall in her garden had collapsed, while a repairman in Chongqing saw the ceiling of his factory crumble and raised the alarm among the staff, who quickly left the building.

Many parts of China, even the remote southern island province of Hainan, felt the quake. So did Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

In Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan Province, people rushed out of homes and offices. Many said they felt dizzy and saw the ceiling light fixtures swinging back and forth.

The local government sent out text messages about the quake. Schools sent students home or gathered them in playgrounds.

The Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and the airport expressway in Zhengzhou were closed. In Lanzhou, capital of the northwestern Gansu Province, the quake set off alarms of many parked cars by the roadside.

Xinhua reporters in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, said they felt their building rock back and forth for about four minutes.

"I could hardly stand! The land was shaking," said Chen Lan, a resident of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province.

A major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale jolted Wenchuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 2:28 p.m. Monday, the State Seismological Bureau (SSB) said.

The epicenter of the quake was located at 31.0 degrees north latitude and 103.4 degrees east longitude, the bureau said.

Five people, including four students in Chongqing and one person in Sichuan, were confirmed dead as of 5:20 p.m. after the earthquake toppled two school buildings and a water tower on separate occasions. At least 110 people were injured.

With a population of 111,800, Wenchuan lies in the southeast part of the Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba, 146 kilometers northwest of Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan.

Wenchuan is home to the Wolong Nature Reserve, China's leading research and breeding base for endangered giant pandas.

Minutes after the Sichuan quake, at 2:35 p.m., an earthquake measuring 3.9 jolted Tongzhou District in east Beijing. That quake's epicenter was 39.8 north latitude and 116.8 east longitude, according to the SSB.

In Shanghai, people were evacuated from office buildings in Hongqiao and Nanjing Road.

Maowen, a neighboring county of Wenchuan, was hit by an quake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale in 1933, which claimed more than 9,000 lives. Songpan and Pingwu in the northwest of Sichuan Province were hit by an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 in 1976.

President Hu Jintao ordered all-out efforts to help those affected by the quake. Premier Wen Jiabao was on his way to direct the rescue work.

The Chengdu Military Area Command has dispatched troops to help with disaster relief work, military sources said.

Jiang Jufeng, governor of Sichuan Province, has ordered two military helicopters to go to Wenchuan to assist the relief work.

The SSB said it would send a team of 180 people to Wenchuan, and the Sichuan provincial government also sent a work group.

The Tibet Autonomous Regional Seismological Bureau has ordered three experts to go to Wenchuan to offer help.

China quake buries nearly 900 students in Sichuan Province

Rescuers try to save wounded students at Juyuan Middle School in Juyuan Township of Dujiangyan City, about 100 kilometers from the epicenter in Wenchuan county of southwest China's Sichuan Province, on May 12, 2008. Nearly 900 students here were feared buried when a high school building collapsed in the earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale which jolted Wenchuan County at 2:28 p.m. on Monday. Rescue works were still underway by press time.

People try to find their property among the debris of collapsed buildings in Dujiangyan, in southwest China's Sichuan Province, on May 12, 2008.

Rescuers search for students at Juyuan Middle School in Juyuan Township of Dujiangyan City, about 100 kilometers from the epicenter in Wenchuan county of southwest China's Sichuan Province, on May 12, 2008.

People rush to rescue students at Juyuan Middle School in Juyuan Township of Dujiangyan City, about 100 kilometers from the epicenter in Wenchuan county of southwest China's Sichuan Province, on May 12, 2008.

Photo taken on May 12, 2008 shows the debris of collapsed buildings in Dujiangyan City of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Medical personnel prepare to give an emergency treatment to the wounded students at Juyuan Middle School in Juyuan Township of Dujiangyan City, about 100 kilometers from the epicenter in Wenchuan county of southwest China's Sichuan Province, on May 12, 2008.

People talk about the just happened earthquake near the debris of collapsed buildings in Dujiangyan, in southwest China's Sichuan Province, on May 12, 2008.

Nearly 900 students in southwest China's Sichuan Province were feared buried when a high school building collapsed here in an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale on Monday afternoon.

At least four third-graders -- two boys and two girls -- were confirmed dead at Juyuan Middle School in Juyuan Township of Dujiangyan City, about 100 kilometers from the epicenter in Wenchuan County, parents and witnesses said.

Xinhua reporters saw a three-story school building had partially collapsed. Some buried teenagers were struggling to break loose from underneath the ruins while others were crying out for help.

Grieved parents watched as five cranes were excavating at the site and an ambulance was waiting.

A tearful mother said his son, third-grader Zhang Chengwei, was buried in the ruins.

Two girls said they escaped because they had "run faster than others."

"It was around 2:30 pm, and the building suddenly began to rock back and forth," one of them recalled.

A villager said the school had 18 classes, all second and third graders, with about 50 students in each class.

"We ran out of the house when the quake hit," said Gao Shangyuan, a villager who lived close to school and helped with the rescue work.

Gao and other villagers helped dozens of students out of the ruins. "Some had jumped out of the window and a few others ran down the stairs that did not collapse."

The quake, felt in most parts of China, has killed 107 nationwide, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs by 18:00.

Minor quake jolts E Beijing, high buildings evacuated

An earthquake in eastern Beijing shook high-rise buildings in the capital and sent panicked residents into streets.

The tremor, measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale, jolted the Tongzhou District at 2:35 p.m.

Separately, a major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale rocked Wenchuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 2:28 p.m. on Monday.

Lisa Wang, an office worker in Oriental Plaza in downtown Beijing, said the whole building was evacuated after the tremor.

"My colleagues, more than 50 people, rushed downstairs from the sixth floor into the plaza in front of the building. A large number of people, other office workers, were already there and more people poured out," she said.

She said hundreds of people stayed outside for about 15 minutes before returning to their offices.

"I still feel dizzy; I don't know if it's just psychological," said the 23-year-old Wang. "But the situation is generally calm. We are all back to work now."

The quake was also felt in Tianjin, about an hour's drive from Beijing, according to reporters from Xinhua's branch there.

The epicenter was initially determined to be 39.8 degrees north latitude and 116.8 degrees east longitude, according to the China Seismological Forecast Network. The network is part of the State Seismological Bureau.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The National Stadium (Bird's Nest) for the Olympic Games, which is in the northeastern Chaoyang District, was not affected by the quake, Li Jiulin, an engineer-in-chief for the project, told Xinhua on telephone.

Li said he was conducting a quality inspection at the venue when the tremor occurred. No abnormality in the building was detected, he added.

Li said the Bird's Nest was designed to endure an 8 magnitude quake.

More than 3,000 workers are carrying out final work on the structure.

Beijing's public transport authorities said traffic was not affected by the tremor.

A Beijing Seismological Bureau official said no devastating earthquake would happen in the near future in the capital.

President Hu orders utmost effort for Sichuan quake victims

President Hu Jintao on Monday ordered all-out efforts to help those affected by a major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale that jolted Wenchuan County of southwest China's Sichuan Province at 2:28 p.m. on Monday.

Premier Wen Jiabao was on his way to the area to direct the rescue work.

The Chengdu Military Area Command has dispatched troops to help with disaster relief work in the earthquake-stricken area, military sources said.

Tian Yixiang, officer with the emergency office of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), said the troops will assist local government in Wenchuan county to gauge the current situation and to help with disaster relief work.

A major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale jolted Wenchuan at 2:28 p.m. Monday, the State Seismological Bureau said. The epicenter of the quake was located 31.0 degrees north latitude and 103.4 degrees east longitude, the bureau said.

China sends troops and armed police to quake-hit county for disaster relief

China's Chengdu Military Area Command has dispatched 5,000 troops and armed police to help with disaster relief work in earthquake-stricken Wenchuan County, in the southwestern Sichuan Province.

Armed police forces stationed in Sichuan province have dispatched 2,900 personnel, while regular army personnel made up the rest of the detachment.

Tian Yixiang, an officer with the emergency office of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), said the troops would assist local authorities in gauging the situation and helping with disaster relief work.

The Military Area Command sent two helicopters to Wenchuan on Monday afternoon.

Later Monday afternoon, the General Staff Department (GSD) of Chinese PLA urged military personnel in Sichuan Province to make every effort in disaster relief work in Wenchuan.

"All troops and armed police in the province should devote themselves to reduce the losses incurred by the earthquake and to protect the safety of life and property of those affected by every means," said the GSD order.

It ordered troops and armed police stationed close to the quake-hit areas to prepare reinforce those already dispatched when ordered or requested by local government.

A major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale jolted Wenchuan at 2:28 p.m. Monday, the China Seismological Bureau said. The epicenter of the quake was located 31 degrees north and 103.4 degrees east.

Tremors were also reported in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Qinghai, Gansu, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Yunnan, Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan and Jiangsu provinces, Shanghai and Chongqing Municipalities, and the Tibet Autonomous Region, the CSB said.

Official: three Gorges Dam "not affected" by earthquake

The Three Gorges Dam was not affected by Monday's major earthquake in Sichuan Province, which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, an official said.

"There were no signs that the earthquake has affected the dam, and everything was going as usual," said Hu Xing'e, an executive with the China Three Gorges Project Corporation.

Urgent: Earthquake felt in Beijing

Earthquake was felt in the capital city of Beijing and Xinhua reporters in Zhengzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing also reported major tremors at around 2 p.m. Monday.

2008-05-12