China Quake Kills 9,000

A Shrinking World Series:

Magnitude 7.9 Earthquake Strikes EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA

Date and Time: Monday, May 12, 2008 at 06:28:00 UTC [Monday, May 12, 2008 at 02:28:00 PM at epicenter
Location: 31.099°N, 103.279°E

Depth: 10 km
Distances: 90 km WNW of Chengdu, Sichuan; 145 km WSW of Mianyang, Sichuan; 360 km WNW of Chongqing, Chongqing; 1545 km SW of BEIJING, Beijing, China
Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 5.8 km

Cars are buried in the debris of collapsed buildings in Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province, after an earthquake occurred May 12, 2008, in this picture distributed by China’s official Xinhua News Agency. REUTERS/Xinhua/Liu Hai (Caption: Reuters)

Striking in the middle of the school day, the 7.9 magnitude earthquake demolished eight schools. Several factories, chemical plants, high-rise buildings and at least one hospital were also destroyed, trapping hundreds of people.

About 7,000 of the deaths are believed to have occurred in Sichuan’s Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County (population of 161,000), where more than 80 percent of the buildings were razed. About one in 10 people in Beichuan are believed to have died or injured.

Video: Powerful quake strikes China

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