State media are reporting nearly 18,000 deaths and there are fears the death toll could go higher. Eighty percent of the buildings have collapsed in one county of Sichuan province. One city has ordered all able-bodied males under 50 years old to take water and tools and walk or drive to the area where most of the buildings had collapsed.
The U.S. Geological Survey initially said the quake had a magnitude of 7.8 but later revised it to 7.9. The quake hit in the middle of the afternoon when classrooms and office towers were full.
State media say a chemical plant cratered, burying hundreds of people and spilling more than 80 tons of toxic liquid ammonia from the site.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
