May 12, 2008

A Massive Earthquake Rocks China

Thousands have been killed and injured in the deadly quake

By Vickie An

A powerful earthquake shook several small cities and towns in southwest China's Sichuan province on Monday. The quake killed nearly 9,000 people, injured some 10,000 others, and caused widespread damage, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

CHEN XIE—XINHUA/AP Residents in Dujiangyan, in China’s Sichuan province, stand near the rubble of collapsed buildings after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake rattled the region on Monday.

The magnitude 7.9 quake was one of the worst to hit China in decades. The devastating tremor reduced rows of houses and buildings to rubble and caused landslides that blocked roads.

The Shake Felt Round the Continent

The tremor also cut power, water and telephone service in nearby Chengdu, the closest city to the quake's epicenter. Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan. The city is located in Wenchuan county, home to a famous panda-breeding center. About 1,200 giant pandas live in the mountains of Sichuan.

Officials in Sichuan have reported 313 aftershocks. Effects of the earthquake were felt across the country and as far away as Taiwan, Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand. Hundreds of miles away in Shanghai and Beijing, people hurried into the streets as skyscrapers trembled.

Businessman James McGregor was inside Beijing's LG Tower when the quake struck. "I've lived in (Taiwan) and California and I've been through quakes before," he said. "This is the most I've ever felt. The floor was moving underneath me."

Another Olympic Challenge

The quake hit less than three months before the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics kick off on August 8. During the past few months, events leading up to the Games have been plagued with protests over the conflict between the Chinese government and Tibet. Still, hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world are expected to visit the Chinese capital for the Olympics.

Li Jiulin is a top engineer for Beijing National Stadium, where the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies will take place. Li was conducting an inspection at the stadium when the quake hit. He told reporters the building was designed to withstand an 8.0 earthquake. None of the Olympic venues were damaged.

Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, sent a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao expressing his sympathies for the victims. "The Olympic Movement is at your side, especially during these difficult moments," Rogge wrote in his letter. "Our thoughts are with you."

China is no stranger to earthquakes. On July 28, 1976, one of the country's deadliest earthquakes in recent history struck the northeastern city of Tangshan, near Beijing. About 240,000 people were killed.

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