Cities from Beijing to Bangkok shaken in huge Chinese quake

Earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale felt across major cities in eastern Asia

HONG KONG: Over 17,000 people were killed or injured in a monstrous earthquake that rocked large parts of China and was felt across a swathe of Asia on Monday. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake, with its epicentre near Chengdu in southwestern Sichuan province, struck at 2.30 pm (12 noon IST), and levelled entire counties in the province. It was felt as far away as Beijing and Shanghai and even in Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand.

The official Xinhua news agency reported, citing local government officials, that over 7,500 people may have died in just one county — Beichuan Qiang — in Sichuan province, where nearly 80 per cent of the buildings collapsed. An additional 10,000 people in the county were injured, it added. The death toll is expected to mount far higher, given that the epicentre was so close to densely populated areas. Badly-damaged Beichuan has a population of about 1,60,000, and Chengdu, one of China’s fastest growing cities, is home to over 10 million people.
 
Entire schools were reduced to rubble, burying thousands of children, Xinhua reported. Some 900 children were buried in just one school in Wenchuan county, it added. President Hu Jintao ordered emergency relief efforts, and Premier Wen Jiabao headed to the quake zone. People’s Liberation Army troops were despatched to help in the effort. Rescue workers were preparing to work through the night in dark after eight power stations were knocked off the grid, disrupting power and water supply.

Telephone and communication lines were also disrupted. China Mobile deputy chief executive Sha Yuejia said that in Chengdu, mobile telecommunication convertors “have experienced jams and thousands of servers were out of service.” 

Several hundred people were believed trapped in two chemical plants in Sichuan, and over 80 tonnes of liquid ammonia was believed to have leaked. Office buildings in Beijing and Shanghai were evacuated after skyscrapers swayed, sending people scurrying for cover.