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Hundreds dead in China quake, state media reports

By the CNN Wire Staff

April 14, 2010 2:26 a.m. EDT


* NEW: About 300 people killed, 8,000 injured from earthquake in Qinghai province, state media report
* NEW: USGS estimates most powerful of series of quakes at magnitude 6.9
* Chinese government announces large-scale relief effort under way to quake zone

(CNN) -- Some 300 people are feared dead after a rapid series of strong earthquakes hit a mountainous and impoverished area of China's Qinghai province early Wednesday, according to state-run television CCTV.

CCTV reported 8,000 others were injured and many people, including primary schoolchildren, were buried under debris after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck at 7:49 a.m. local time (7:49 p.m. ET Tuesday), when many people were probably still at home and schools were beginning the day.

The USGS also recorded several strong aftershocks -- one of magnitude 5.8 -- all within hours of the first quake.

"We have to mainly rely on our hands to clear away the debris as we have no large excavating machines," police officer Shi Huajie told the Xinhua News Agency. "We have no medical equipment, either."

A Chinese military official told Xinhua that the death toll was expected to rise, given the damage to homes.

He said dispatched soldiers were setting up tents and transporting oxygen for the injured but affected roads leading to the airport could hamper relief efforts.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs plans to distribute 5,000 tents, 50,000 coats and 50,000 quilts to the earthquake zone, Xinhua said.

The epicenter was located in remote and rugged terrain, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Qamdo, Tibet. Qinghai borders the autonomous regions of Tibet and Xingjiang and the provinces of Gansu and Sichuan.

World's biggest earthquakes since 1990

Xinhua said the quake hit the prefecture of Yushu, a Tibetan region of Qinghai with about 80,000 people.

More than 85 percent of the houses in the county seat of Jiegu, had collapsed, a prefecture official told Xinhua.
Qunghai province
Population: 5 million
People: 44 ethnic groups, including Tibetans and Mongols
Average elevation: Over 3,000 meters above sea level
Geography: Qilian Mountains, the Qingnan Plateau and the source of the Yangtze, Mekong and Yellow Rivers
GDP: US$3.2 billion; average GDP per capita US$639
Industries: Agriculture, hydropower, oil and natural gas


"Many are buried in the collapsed houses, and there are still lots of others who are injured and being treated at local hospitals," he said.

Xinhua said residents near the epicenter also reported casualties and collapsed buildings.

Can buildings be made earthquake-proof?

Karsum Nyima, deputy director of news at local Yushu TV, told Xinhua that most of the houses in the area were made of wood with earthen walls. He said some had come tumbling down, including a Buddhist pagoda in a park.

In 2008, 70,000 people died when a 7.9 earthquake rocked neighboring Sichuan province, northwest of its capital, Chengdu.

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