. | . |
No news from county at epicentre of China quake: Xinhua Beijing (AFP) May 12, 2008 There has been no news from the county in southwest China at the epicentre of a deadly earthquake, more than nine hours after the disaster struck on Monday, state press reported. All lines of communication had been cut with Wenchuan county, which has a population of 112,000 people, Xinhua reported, adding rescue teams had been unable to reach there because the roads had been destroyed. The lack of news from Wenchuan raises the prospect of the death toll rising dramatically, as Xinhua has already reported thousands of deaths in nearby areas of Sichuan province. "We are doing everything we can, but the roads are blanketed with rocks and boulders," Xinhua quoted Li Chongxi, a Communist Party official, as saying. Li was leading a rescue team trying to reach Wenchuan, Xinhua reported, but was stranded at Dujiangyan city about 40 kilometres (25 miles) away. Xinhua's dispatch went out around 11:30 pm. The quake, with a magnitude of 7.8, struck shortly before 2:30 pm (0600 GMT) on Monday. More than 8,600 people have been killed, Xinhua said in previous reports, quoting government officials. In Sichuan alone, 8,533 were killed, Xinhua said, citing the local government. In Sichuan's Beichuan county, which is close to Wenchuan, the number of deaths was estimated at more than 3,000, with 80 percent of the buildings there destroyed, according to Xinhua. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters A world of storm and tempest When the Earth Quakes
UN to Myanmar: 'Act now or more lives will be lost' Bangkok (AFP) May 12, 2008 The United Nations said Monday it was still awaiting two-dozen visas for its foreign staff to enter Myanmar, and that the regime had to act fast to prevent more deaths in the aftermath of a cyclone. |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |