Home >> China >> General

BEIJING - A powerful earthquake struck Monday close to densely populated areas of southwestern China, flattening schools and homes and killing more than 100 people, according to early estimates.The quake, with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale, was felt in cities across a swathe of Southeast Asia including the Thai capital Bangkok, more than 1,800 kilometres (1,200 miles) from the epicentre in Sichuan province.Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called it a "major disaster" and urged calm.China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported that up to 900 students were feared buried when a high school collapsed in Dujiangyan, which has a population of some 600,000.At least four children were confirmed dead there, Xinhua said, and quoted a local official saying "rows of houses" had also been demolished.Another four children died and more than 100 were injured when two primary schools crumbled in the sprawling metropolis of Chongqing.The civil affairs ministry, cited by Xin...

>> Full Article

Previous: China expert to head Taiwan national security council