The death toll from the massive earthquake that hit China's Sichuan province Monday has neared 15,000, and more than 20,000 are reportedly still trapped under rubble. This is China's most devastating earthquake since the July 1976 earthquake in Tangshan, Hebei Province, which killed about 242,000 people. The international community must not lose any time in extending assistance to China in its efforts to search for, rescue and take care of quake victims.
The disaster could disrupt China's preparation for the Beijing Olympic Games to be held in August. China had already seen protests in many parts of the world against the Olympic torch relay following its crackdown on antigovernment and anti-Chinese riots by ethnic Tibetans. Sadly, the epicenter of the 7.9-magnitude quake, 92 km northwest of the Sichuan capital of Chengdu, was in Wenchuan County, where many ethnic Tibetans live. Eight provinces reported fatalities, including Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan, and the Chongqing Municipality. More than 3.4 million buildings collapsed or were destroyed in Sichuan alone.
According to an estimate by associate professor Yoshiko Yamanaka of Nagoya University, the fault that caused the quake was about 120 km long, more than twice as long as the fault that caused the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake. Energy released by the Sichuan quake was about 20 times that of the quake that hit Kobe and its adjacent areas.