The death toll has reached 9000 in a major earthquake that struck Wenchuan County in Southwestern China on May 12th 2008.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter scale has caused extensive damage and loss of life especially in the Sichuan province of China.
The epicenter was located was located 60 miles northwest of Chenqdu which is a large city of 3.75 million people. It struck shortly before 2.30 pm local time and according to the USGS, the quake was at depth of approximately 5 miles.
The current report from the official Xinhua News Agency says 8,533 people have died in Sichuan province and more than 200 others were killed in three other provinces. The news agency also reported that 80% percent of the buildings collapsed in Sichuan province's Beichuan County after the quake. The death toll should increase because rescue efforts are still underway.
Because children were still at class, there will be many deaths concentrated in schools. There has been confirmation of 900 deaths in a high school that collapsed in Dujiangyan. This same disaster, a toxic chemical leak occurred. There were additional deaths and injuries when two primary schools were destroyed in Chongqing.
In other reports, a chemical plant in Shifang city has caved in resulting in the burial of hundreds of people and spilling more than 80 tons of toxic liquid ammonia.
In Beijing, the earthquake did not damage any of the Olympic venues that have been built for the upcoming Summer Olympics.
In 2003, the last serious earthquake struck China. It was a 6.8 magnitude earthquake and it killed 268 people in Bachu County. The most deadly earthquake in China was in Tangshan on July 1976 where 240,000 people were killed.
The earthquake was felt throughout Southeast Asia including Bangkok, Hong Kong, Hanoi and Taipei.
This is not the final death toll and updated reports are expected.
