China Earthquake -- More Disasters -- More To Come

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck central China, but 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. he official Xinhua News Agency reported that four of the dead were ninth-grade students killed when their high school collapsed. Photos showed heavy cranes trying to remove rubble from the ruined school. Xinhua did not say how many of the students were feared dead.
The tremor, in south west China, has also buried 900 teenagers in a school.
The death toll is only just being revealed as authorities and rescue teams make contact with the worst-hit areas of Sichuan province.
State media says some 80% of the buildings in one county of Sichuan have collapsed.
Buildings toppled in at least six counties near the epicentre, Xinhua said.
The picture above is of an earthquake of similar magnitude in China. The devastation would of been similar had it not been for modern building practices.
The quake's epicentre was in the nearby Sichuan county of Wenchuan and its force caused buildings to sway across China and as far away as the Thai capital Bangkok.
Premier Wen Jiabao had rushed to the area and President Hu Jintao ordered an "all-out" rescue effort, Xinhua reported.
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