Sichuan Earthquake

Sichuan Earthquake – Photos and video of earthquake in Sichuan Province in China that killed more than 9,000 people with thousands more trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked Chengdu, China on May 12, 2008.

The Sichuan earthquake struck in mid-afternoon and leveled six schools including Juyuan Middle School – seen in pictures below – where 900 students were crushed when the three-story school collapsed in Dujiangyan City, about 100 kilometers from the epicenter in Wenchuan county of southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, was badly shaken during the four-minute quake, but the worst damage was in Dujiangyan City, northwest of Chengdu toward the Tibet plateau as seen in the China earthquake map below.

The earthquake death toll is likely to soar as rescuers worked around the clock digging in collapsed buildings for survivors. In photos below, workers dug frantically all night seeking survivors in school collapse.

As workers used cranes and backhoes to remove rubble, rescue workers searched the wreckage of a collapsed school for survivors.

Sadly, not many of the 900 students buried alive at this school survived.

Five other schools also collapsed in the quake and there were reports of heavy damage to at least two hospitals in Sichuan Province.

The Sichuan earthquake epicenter was in the rural county of Wenchuan. Wenchuan is at the tip of Tibetan-occupied areas of the country, and generally sparsely populated. Its total official population is 110,000.

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted the Sichuan provincial government as saying 7,651 people died across the province in the devastating earthquake, but the situation in at least two counties remain unclear.

In Beichuan county, just east of the epicenter, up to 5,000 people were killed and 80 per cent of buildings collapsed, Xinhua said. Another 10,000 people were injured.

In Beijing, which is almost 1,400 miles away, buildings swayed for two minutes, and the powerful earthquake’s effects were felt all over the country.

Many residents of Chengdu, Sichuan were too frightened to sleep indoors after the massive quake and it’s aftershocks roiled the city of ten million.

Reuters News Video of Sichuan Earthquake

Cellphone video of quake in Chengdu college classroom: