Central China rocked by massive earthquake
China has been rocked by a massive earthquake on Monday afternoon measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale.
The quake, which centred in central China, in the Sichuan province, was felt as far away as Bangkok in Thailand and Hanoi in Vietnam, brought down buildings and has so far, killed over 100 people.
Unconfirmed reports quoting the Chinese state media put the figure in the thousands, some claiming up to 5,000 have been killed whilst another 10,000 have been injured.
It is the worst earthquake in the region for over 30 years.
In Dujiangyan city – 57 miles from Chengdu, Sichuan’s provincial capital, at least 900 students are buried after their three-storey school collapsed.
The death toll is expected to rise as reports begin to come in on further casualties from all over the region.
Unlike its Burmese neighbours, the Chinese government have been quick to mobilise its response units to reach those affected by the quake.
Troops have been called in to assist rescue efforts. Premier Wen Jiabao rushed to the stricken area, calling this a 'major disaster.' President Hu Jintao urged an 'all-out' effort to rescue victims.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs told the official Chinese Xinhua news agency, that 107 people had been killed in Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan provinces and in the municipality of Chongqing. It said many had died in collapsed buildings.
The earthquake also shook buildings in the country’s capital Beijing, some 930 miles to the north, less than three months before the city expects to be full of hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors for the Summer Olympics.
Office towers were evacuated, including the building housing the media offices for the organizers of the Olympics, which start in August.
However, an Olympic spokesman said that none of the 31 venues for the Beijing Olympics in the capital and six other host cities had been damaged. “They are earthquake-proof to a high degree and no damage was done,” said Sun Weide of the Olympic communications department.
The Red Cross Society of China has dispatched over 500 tents and 2,500 quilts valued at 113,000 U.S. dollars to Wenchuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province.
The relief materials were allocated from the Red Cross' relief centre in Chengdu. The society said it was sending a rescue team to the quake-hit areas to survey the situation.
China's massive Three Gorges Dam - the world’s largest hydro-electric power station - built along the Yangtze River in nearby Hubei province, was not damaged, according to official media
China's worst earthquake struck the northeastern city of Tangshan on July 28, 1976, killing 240,000 people.
