Quake-damaged dams could burst
26/5/08
Nearly 70 dams scarred by the force of China’s most powerful earthquake in three decades were in danger of bursting, the Government said yesterday, while looming rains added to worries about relief efforts for millions of homeless survivors. The confirmed death toll from the May 12 quake rose to 62,664, with a further 23,775 people missing, cabinet spokesman Guo Weimin said. But Premier Wen Jiabao, who accompanied UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on a brief visit on Saturday to one of the areas worst hit by the 7.9-magnitude quake, has warned that the toll could surpass 80,000. A magnitude-5.8 aftershock rattled the quake area yesterday, the strongest since May 12, killing one person and injuring 262. State television said there were reports that 70,000 homes had been toppled.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,23756158-2703,00.html?from=public_rss
One dead, 70,000 homes collapsed in China aftershock
25/5/08
At least one person died and more than 260 others were injured Sunday in southwest China by the strongest aftershock since a massive quake two weeks ago, authorities and state media said. The aftershock, which measured 6.4 on the Richter scale, also destroyed more than 70,000 homes and left 200,000 others in danger of collapse, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting a local disaster relief official.An official at the Sichuan Earthquake Bureau told AFP that it had been the strongest of more than 8,000 aftershocks detected since the 8.0-magnitude quake on May 12 that destroyed large swathes of southwestern Sichuan province.
See: http://news.theage.com.au/world/one-dead-70000-homes-collapsed-in-china-aftershock-20080525-2i4t.html
Tags: Aftershock, China, Earthquake, Environment