China's Sichuan hit by earthquake, killing 12: State media

BEIJING: A powerful earthquake jolted China's Sichuan province on
Saturday near where a devastating quake struck five years ago,
leavingat least 12 dead and more than 100 injured and prompting state
media to warn the casualty toll could climb sharply.
The quake - measured by China's seismological bureau at magnitude-7
and the US Geological Survey at 6.6 - struck the steep hills of Lushan
county shortly after 8am toppling buildings, many of them older brick
structures. People ran into the streets in their underwear and wrapped
in blankets, according to photos posted online.
State-run China Central Television reported that at least 12 people
were confirmed dead and more than 100 injured. Sichuan Online, the
website of the official provincial newspaper, quoted a provincial
earthquake bureau official it did not name as saying more than 100
people have been injured or killed.
The quake's shallow depth, less than 13 kilometers (8 miles), likely
magnified the impact. The official Xinhua News Agency said that the
quake rattled buildings in the provincial capital of Chengdu 115
kilometers (70 miles), to the east. It caused the shutdown of the
city's airport for about an hour before reopening, state media said.
Lushan, where the quake struck, is home to 1.5 million people where
thefertile Sichuan plain meets foothills that eventually rise to the
Tibetan plateau . Known for its mountains, the area is near a
well-known preserve for pandas.
Social media users who said they were in Lushan county posted photos
of collapsed buildings and reported that water and electricity had
been cut off.
A man who answered the phone at the Ya'an city government said
telecommunications were cut and that medical and rescue teams are
onthe way to the area.
"I felt the strong quake this morning in my office. All drawers of the
deskopened and some stuff on the table fell on the floor," said the
man, who refused to give his name, as is usual with low-ranking
Chinese government officials.
The area lies near the same Longmenshan fault where the devastating
7.9-magnitude quake struck in May 2008, leaving more than 90,000
people dead or missing and presumed dead.