Thousands Dead in China Earthquake

YoshiToshi · 05-13-2008, 11:52 PM

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBu...20080512h.html

Quote:

Beijing (AP) - A massive earthquake struck central China on Monday and state media reported that as many as 5,000 people were killed in a single county while nearly 900 students were trapped under the rubble of their school.

The official Xinhua News Agency said 80 percent of the buildings had collapsed in Beichuan county in Sichuan province after the 7.8-magnitude quake.

Xinhua reported that 3,000 to 5,000 people had died in Beichuan, which has a population of 160,000, raising fears the overall death toll could increase sharply. Another 10,000 people were believed to be hurt.

The earthquake 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.

Rescuers had recovered at least 50 bodies from the debris of the school building in Juyuan township, about 60 miles from the epicenter. Xinhua did not say if any students had been pulled out alive.

An unknown number of students also were reported buried after buildings collapsed at five other schools in Deyang city in Sichuan, Xinhua reported.

It said its reporters saw buried teenagers struggling to break loose from underneath the rubble of the three-story building in Juyuan "while others were crying out for help."

Two girls were quoted by Xinhua as saying they escaped because they had "run faster than others."

The earthquake comes less than three months before the start of the Beijing Summer Olympics, when China hopes to use to showcase its rise in the world.

Shanghai's main index inched up Monday, but the advance was capped by worries over inflation and potential damage from the earthquake. Analysts said that shares of companies located in the Sichuan region may fall in coming sessions due to the quake.

It struck in the middle of the afternoon when classes and office towers were full, about 60 miles northwest of Chengdu. There were several smaller aftershocks, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site.

Calls into the city did not go through as panicked residents quickly overloaded the telephone system. The quake affected telephone and power networks, and even state media appeared to have few details of the disaster.

"In Chengdu, mobile telecommunication convertors have experienced jams and thousands of servers were out of service," said Sha Yuejia, deputy chief executive officer of China Mobile.

Although it was difficult to telephone Chengdu, an Israeli student, Ronen Medzini, sent a text message to The Associated Press saying there were power and water outages there.

"Traffic jams, no running water, power outs, everyone sitting in the streets, patients evacuated from hospitals sitting outside and waiting," he said.

Xinhua said an underground water pipe ruptured near the city's southern railway station, flooding a main thoroughfare. Reporters saw buildings with cracks in their walls but no collapses, Xinhua said.

The earthquake also rattled buildings in Beijing, some 930 miles to the north, less than three months before the Chinese capital was expected to be full of hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors for the Summer Olympics.

Many Beijing office towers were evacuated, including the building housing the media offices for the organizers of the Olympics, which start in August. None of the Olympic venues was damaged.

"I've lived in Taipei and California and I've been through quakes before. This is the most I've ever felt," said James McGregor, a business consultant who was inside the LG Towers in Beijing's business district. "The floor was moving underneath me."

In Fuyang, 660 miles to the east, chandeliers in the lobby of the Buckingham Palace Hotel swayed. "We've never felt anything like this our whole lives," said a hotel employee surnamed Zhu.

Patients at the Fuyang People's No. 1 Hospital were evacuated. An hour after the quake, a half-dozen patients in blue-striped pajamas stood outside the hospital. One was laying on a hospital bed in the parking lot.

Skyscrapers in Shanghai swayed and most office occupants went rushing into the streets.

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.

China's deadliest earthquake in modern history struck the northeastern city of Tangshan on July 28, 1976, killing 240,000 people.

Other sources tell me that it was 900 students that were buried under the school-- It's unconfirmed on how many were found alive.
EDIT: The count for the students is in the thousands-- It's still unconfirmed.

xXmagnesiumXx · 05-14-2008, 12:08 AM

My grandma lives in Chengdu. She called us at 1:30 on early monday morning and I didn't realize what it was. I guess this was it. Fortunately, all the structures in her area held, so she was fine. Apparently there are still aftershocks, so my grandparents are coming over.

phew2 · 05-14-2008, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xXmagnesiumXx

My grandma lives in Chengdu. She called us at 1:30 on early monday morning and I didn't realize what it was. I guess this was it. Fortunately, all the structures in her area held, so she was fine. Apparently there are still aftershocks, so my grandparents are coming over.

Thank god they still alive. This is a horrible event . An earthquake strike always come in surprise and it seems quite hard to avoid losses of lives.

On behalf of the my family , we express our deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families.

Nidaime. · 05-14-2008, 07:29 AM

*snifff* really sad...............

OniKage · 05-14-2008, 09:59 AM

yah... and i had heard reports and predictions from the US Geological Society in Hawaii that even the Philippines will experience a massive 6.8 magnitude a few ours after i made this post.

Hokage4354 · 05-14-2008, 10:03 AM

I heard about this yesterday. . ..

This is really horrible.......

OG · 05-14-2008, 10:07 AM

one of my cousins is among one of the X who are missing......

I hope he is still alive, but sadly, I think he is dead.

Babyface BK · 05-14-2008, 11:22 AM

This is quite a terrible thing to happen with most of the Asian countries already under threat of going underwater in 50 years time, plus the recent food crisis. I send out my condolensces to all the families that have had losses in this unfortunate event.

YoshiToshi · 05-15-2008, 07:52 PM

In the aftermath of the earthquake, more than 50,000 bodies were found dead.
edit: Ah, that was a mistake. It is estimated that they will find more than 50,000 bodies.

OffTheChain · 05-16-2008, 05:08 PM

Shit is bad. Asia is getting bad luck atm. First Burma, now this.
I wish they had made better buildings, but I guess it can't be helped.
Just hope everyone who has family members and friends out there are alive, and if not R.I.P.
I don't even like looking at the tv reports anymore...

hippiematt · 05-16-2008, 06:45 PM

They found this kid that was buried beneath the school, he was buried for 80 hours yet still alive. It is so sad, on the news many people were crying, kinda killed my friday.

Sevi · 05-17-2008, 05:43 PM

There was no warning, was there? With Tornadoes and Hurricanes, there's usually a warning. People have a chance to evacuate before it happens. Here there was nothing.
Asia's got it bad.

05-14-2008, 12:08 AM	#2
xXmagnesiumXx '光和雨 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: none Posts: 1,297 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Thousands Dead in China Earthquake My grandma lives in Chengdu. She called us at 1:30 on early monday morning and I didn't realize what it was. I guess this was it. Fortunately, all the structures in her area held, so she was fine. Apparently there are still aftershocks, so my grandparents are coming over.

05-14-2008, 07:29 AM	#4
Nidaime. Academy Student Join Date: May 2008 Age: 23 Posts: 29 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Thousands Dead in China Earthquake snifff really sad...............

05-14-2008, 09:59 AM	#5
OniKage Shadow Demon Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: In front of a computer Age: 20 Posts: 592 Thanks: 1 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Thousands Dead in China Earthquake yah... and i had heard reports and predictions from the US Geological Society in Hawaii that even the Philippines will experience a massive 6.8 magnitude a few ours after i made this post. __________________ I'm with the:

05-14-2008, 10:03 AM	#6
Hokage4354 SOTW Host Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: New Jersey Posts: 956 Thanks: 8 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Thousands Dead in China Earthquake I heard about this yesterday. . .. This is really horrible....... __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~ Join Kongregate today!

05-14-2008, 10:07 AM	#7
OG [잊지 말아요] Join Date: Aug 2005 Age: 25 Posts: 7,624 Thanks: 2,234 Thanked 4,182 Times in 1,816 Posts	Re: Thousands Dead in China Earthquake one of my cousins is among one of the X who are missing...... I hope he is still alive, but sadly, I think he is dead. __________________

05-14-2008, 11:22 AM	#8
Babyface BK <3===BK Join Date: Mar 1988 Location: With My Babeh Age: 25 Posts: 2,245 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1,856 Times in 844 Posts	Re: Thousands Dead in China Earthquake This is quite a terrible thing to happen with most of the Asian countries already under threat of going underwater in 50 years time, plus the recent food crisis. I send out my condolensces to all the families that have had losses in this unfortunate event. __________________ "The road to success is always under construction. "

05-15-2008, 07:52 PM	#9
YoshiToshi YoshiToshi say grawr. Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Hawaii.. grawr. Age: 22 Posts: 7,859 Thanks: 6 Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts	Re: Thousands Dead in China Earthquake In the aftermath of the earthquake, more than 50,000 bodies were found dead. edit: Ah, that was a mistake. It is estimated that they will find more than 50,000 bodies. __________________ 1.14.20.9 - 14.15.15.2\|hope to be more active... yoshitoshi//yoshitoshi//yoshitoshi//yoshi toshi Click here to level up my license!

05-16-2008, 05:08 PM	#10
OffTheChain ☆ Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 8,963 Thanks: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Thousands Dead in China Earthquake Shit is bad. Asia is getting bad luck atm. First Burma, now this. I wish they had made better buildings, but I guess it can't be helped. Just hope everyone who has family members and friends out there are alive, and if not R.I.P. I don't even like looking at the tv reports anymore...

05-16-2008, 06:45 PM	#11
hippiematt Chuunin Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: ipod Age: 21 Posts: 721 Thanks: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Thousands Dead in China Earthquake They found this kid that was buried beneath the school, he was buried for 80 hours yet still alive. It is so sad, on the news many people were crying, kinda killed my friday. __________________ I will put my code up in a while. Brawl Mario Cart

05-17-2008, 05:43 PM	#12
Sevi Toothpick Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Here and there. Age: 19 Posts: 553 Thanks: 407 Thanked 60 Times in 26 Posts	Re: Thousands Dead in China Earthquake There was no warning, was there? With Tornadoes and Hurricanes, there's usually a warning. People have a chance to evacuate before it happens. Here there was nothing. Asia's got it bad.

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