Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Massive Earthquake Rocks Central China


I heard of this unfortunate news this morning as I was driving to work from the radio.

The quake that struck at 2.28pm is said to be the largest the region has seen for over a generation. The last major earthquake in the region occurred in the northwestern margin of the Sichuan basin when a 7.5 magnitude quake killed more than 9,300 people on August 1933.

The quake which was again centered in the Sichuan province is said to have killed 12,000 people so far. It was estimated that nearly 30 seismic aftershock jolts hit the province in the first 24 hours following Monday's quake and this has slowed down the progress of 1,300 strong rescued teams dispatched into the area. All of this quakes were magnitude between 4.0 and 6.0.

In the coming days, I am sure this number will swell as authorities have only began to reach the worse hit areas. Thousands remained trapped under the rubble, including hundreds of children at half-dozen schools.

Let us all pray and hope that rescue efforts will go smoothly.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

uknow, it's reading news like this (this plus the cyclone Nargis that ravaged Myanmar) that make me feel how blessed Malaysia is.

Chee Hoe said...

Buzzing,
With the change in climate, sometimes I wonder how long Malaysia can stay safe from environmental calamities. After watching the 11th hour, all this kind of news does give me the creeps.

Dalicia said...

over here ppl thought it was beijing :P it's hard to say with mother nature. my friend wasn't affected but he didn't hear anything from her sister in laws

Chee Hoe said...

I got a friend that lost contact with his friend that stays at sichuan as well. Quite worrying