Massive Earthquake in China

[The Kernel]

BEIJING — An earthquake measuring 7.5 rocked China's Sichuan province on Monday, less than 100 kilometres from the provincial capital of Chengdu, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its website.

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

"We felt continuous shaking for about two or three minutes. All the people in our office are rushing downstairs. We're still feeling slight tremblings," said an office worker in Chengdu.

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

"People were shouting 'get out, get out', so we all ran out of our dorm," said a student at a university in nearby Chongqing.

Sources said there was no immediate impact to the Three Gorges Dam project, the weight of whose massive reservoir, hundreds of kilometres from Chengdu, experts have said could increase the risk of tremors.

A spokesman for the China Earthquake Administration said it was still checking the epicentre and scale of the tremor.

My sister is in Chengu as we speak on a biking tour and we haven't heard from her...holy shit this looks bad.

[Murazor]

Shit.

I was going to make some comments about the games, but considering the magnitude and the location, this could be considerably worse than the Turkish quake of 1999. Fuck the Olympics and let's hope that casualties are low, although I fear that this isn't gonna be true...

Of course, best luck with contacting your sister, Kernel. Some relatives of mine were out of touch for two days following the Madrid bombings and I think that I know the kind of crap you are going through.

[weemadando]

Good luck with your sister Kernel...

This just looks fucking bad. Thankfully, massive amounts of aid in the area are being shrugged off by Burma so maybe China will be thankful for it.

[Masami von Weizegger]

The Beeb has news. Five dead, four of them school children, over one hundred injured.

Chinese President Hu Jintao has called for "all-out" efforts to rescue victims of an earthquake measuring 7.8 that has hit south-western China.

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

China's state-run Xinhua news agency said Premier Wen Jiabao was travelling to the area and troops were being sent to help with disaster relief efforts.

Five people are reported to have died, including four schoolchildren.

The children were killed, and more than 100 others injured, when primary school buildings collapsed in the Chongqing area, a large municipality near Sichuan province, Xinhua added.

Another person is reported to have died when a water tower collapsed in the city of Mianyang, in Santai County.

There are fears of more casualties in Dujiangyan city, near the epicentre in the mainly rural Wenchuan County, where rows of houses are reported to have collapsed.

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

But workers were evacuated from swaying buildings in several cities.

Tremors were felt as far afield as Beijing, the Thai capital, Bangkok, and Hanoi in Vietnam.

Workers in Beijing - about 930 miles from Chengdu - said buildings shook for about two minutes.

In the city's financial district, people poured out of buildings, but there were no visible signs of damage.

China's tallest building, the Jinmao Tower in Shanghai, was also evacuated after the earthquake, Reuters news agency said.

'Continuous shaking'

In Chengdu, residents streamed on to the streets, cracks were reported in some buildings and water pipes burst.

"There do not seem to be major damages. Some building are cracked, but nothing major, from what we can see in the area near our hotel," Gilles Barbier in Chengdu told the BBC News website.

"The quake was really strong, continuous. Two aftershocks could be felt. Many people on the street."

Bobby Silby in Zhenghzou, in Henan province said he was having lunch in a restaurant when he felt the tremors.

"It felt like the floor was moving all around me, everyone started running outside in a panic. The streets are still filled with people who haven't gone back into their buildings."

Telephone lines to the affected areas were jammed.

The area where Monday's earthquake struck lies on the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau.

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

Earthquakes are common in China - in March a 7.2 magnitude quake struck in western Xinjiang province.

[weemadando]

I'll believe that there's been no effect on the cities and dams when some real journalists get there, not Chinese MiniTruth sorts.

[J Ryan]

It's now been updated saying there are almost 900 students been buried alive in collapsing structures.

One of my worst nightmares.

[White Haven]

BBC's saying 3-5000 dead so far.

[Edward Yee]

Kernel, any word on your sister?

[The Grim Squeaker]

BBC's saying 3-5000 dead so far.

Try over 7,651
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.

This is going to get even worse, 8 more schools full of children are trapped according to the beeb .

[The Kernel]

Kernel, any word on your sister?

None. The phones are all still jammed and she is in a rural area, but we should have heard from her by now as she has an Irridium sat phone with her, although she might have gotten separated from her bags.

[The Kernel]

UPDATE: Okay, I finally got through to the organization she's traveling with and my sister and her husband are fine.

[Dark Hellion]

I am very glad to hear that your sister is okay.

My girlfriend was in Chengdu about 9 months ago, I should ask her about this if she has time, see her reaction.

[The Grim Squeaker]

UPDATE: Okay, I finally got through to the organization she's traveling with and my sister and her husband are fine.

Very good to hear that. .

It's a strange thing, human psychology. We hear of thousands dead, and don't feel a thing, but worry if it's someone we know, or someone who knows someone we know, and so on to the umpteenth degree. (Yes, I do know the biological reason behind this, that's besides the point)

[Lord Poe]

The New York Times is reporting 8,500 dead. That's just horrifying.

[The Vortex Empire]

Holy shit. 7.5 is huge, I can't imagine the damage. And 8,500 dead? That's horrifying.

[Tiriol]

The New York Times is reporting 8,500 dead. That's just horrifying.

According to Helsingin Sanomat (link is in Finnish, sorry), that's only in one province.

Truly, a terrible and massive loss of life.

[Tiriol]

The New York Times is reporting 8,500 dead. That's just horrifying.

According to Helsingin Sanomat (link is in Finnish, sorry), that's only in one province.

Truly, a terrible and massive loss of life.

Poor man's edit: meaning that the death toll so far has come merely from one province, it will most likely become considerably higher once the other provinces start reporting.

[weemadando]

Is there any news on the dams? That remains my biggest concern given how shittily there were [allegedly] made.

[[R_H]]

Poor man's edit: meaning that the death toll so far has come merely from one province, it will most likely become considerably higher once the other provinces start reporting.

Over at BBC there's a death tally. The vast majority of the fatalities so far are in Sichuan province(8,533) but they have been fatalities in Shaanxi province(61), Gansu province(48 ), Chongqing municipality(50) and one death in the Yunnan province.

[FSTargetDrone]

UPDATE: Okay, I finally got through to the organization she's traveling with and my sister and her husband are fine.

EXCELLENT news. A glimmer of hope amidst all the carnage, to be sure.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Holy shit. 7.5 is huge, I can't imagine the damage. And 8,500 dead? That's horrifying.

Its been revised. The quake is now ranked at 7.9. Not far from the Tsunami Quake.

[ray245]

You know what is the worst part? It happened during school hours, now, lots of kids are trapped...

[TimothyC]

Its been revised. The quake is now ranked at 7.9. Not far from the Tsunami Quake.

I thought it was over a 9?

[Archaic`]

For such a densely populated region, and one with a number of heavy industries, this death toll is thankfully low. It could easily have been so much worse (and still may be, with many people still apparently trapped). I'd be especially worried about the chemical and pharmaceutical plants in the region, and possible contamination of the water supply and the air from noxious substances.

[TrailerParkJawa]

Kernel,

Glad to hear your sister and her husband are okay!

Today we were remarking at work how things have changed. Its far harder now to keep pictures of this disaster from making it to the outside world.
Judging from the few pics I've seen there are multiple buildings that have suffered complete collapse.