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'Thousands dead' as powerful earthquake rocks southwest China

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Chinese media are reporting between 3,000 and 5,000 have died after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Sichuan province early Monday morning. Death tolls have risen sharply as authorities and relief reaches areas previously cut off when the quake hit.

Also, 900 students are allegedly buried after mudslide triggered by the quake caused a high school building to collapse.

Reports say tremors could be felt across much of China and all the way in Bangkok, Thailand, which is about 3,300 km away. The US Geological Survey originally reported a 7.8 magnitude.
abbym0308

12 responses // 'Thousands dead' as powerful earthquake rocks southwest China

  • Beat me to it! :(
    Midnight_DevilX
  • AMAZING
    keithponder
  • Yeah, me too... I was scrolling down the page and I was like, "unbelievable, this story isn't on here yet." Low and behold, it is.

    This is devastating, sad news. Very tragic especially the hurricane in Burma took its toll.
    pogschampion
  • Suck terrible news. At least they have a government willing to take help.
    Tbonelofthouse
  • http://current.com/items/88947857_900_students_buried_b...
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    Just one example of the severity of the earthquake made especially more real by the fact that the victims are of a similar age to most of us...
    mattbrawn
  • watch this comment being used here, here and here
    Asia seems to bare the brunt of so many disasters.
    Cyclones, tsunamis and earthquakes, the west seems to get off lightly on so many things.
    helenc
  • http://current.com/items/88947859_earthquake_footage
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    Check out this footage from the quake. I don't read Chinese, so I'm not certain what the site is or who filmed it, but the user who clipped it said it was shot by a student in Chengdu. Scary!
    Tori
  • nature can be a female dog.
    diode
  • watch this comment being used here, here, here and here
    http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003475.html
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    The earth is a living organism that like our bodies has to purify itself to function.
    Earthquakes, like tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions are earth's way of purification.
    These natural events are more frequent and more powerful and destructive because the pollution caused by human beings is overloading the earth's natural purification mechanisms and bringing us to the tipping point of global warming.
    Hope the Chinese will listen to the earth's message and rebuild green in the areas hit by this destructive earthquake.
    TouchArt
  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7396225.stm
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    An eyewitness account.
    joshuaheller
  • This is so sad :(
    Spiral9
  • I agree with you, Touchart. I have completed research (as a novice, not a scientist) in the hypothesis that Global warming will precipitate greater instances of major earthquakes (greater than a magnitude of 5.9) and Volcanoes (greater than a VEI of 2). I sent my research off to four scientific sites. Only one responded: Brittish Geological Society. They admitted there was no research on the idea, felt it not likely and also noted there was currently no funding to allocate to such research.
    Summary of the novice's research:
    1. The extraordinary warming period of the last 150 years is experiencing an alarming increase in major earthquakes and volcanism. As Follows:
    - In 9000 years (from 9900 BC to 1 BC), there were 11 volcanic eruptions (VEI >2) and 24 volcanoes were considered active.
    - In the past 11 centuries, collecting only at 100 year increments, there have been 31 such volcanic events with 75 active.
    - From the 1st to 19th centuries there were 17 eruptions (VEI >2), since then, in recent two centuries there have been 14.
    - In the past six centuries the number of earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 5.9 have gone from 1 during 1500s, 6 during 1600s, 3 during 1700s, 48 in the1800s, 343 in the 1900s and 221 so far in the 21st century.
    - There have been 13 earthquakes with MAG > 5.9 in the first two months of 2008

    2. Prehistorically, when the earth was in a warming period, it was also in a period of active plate tectonics. Plate tectonics is obviously coincident with prolonged periods of intense and frequent earthquakes and volcanism. Conversely, there was no evidence of plate tectonics during cooling periods (ice ages).
    notonourwatch

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