The death toll from Monday's major earthquake in China's Sichuan Province has topped 12,000.
The extent of the damage is not yet clear in Wenchuan County, near the epicenter, and some other areas because road access and communications have not been restored more than 24 hours after the quake.
The provincial authorities said more than 12,000 people had been confirmed dead as of 7 PM on Tuesday from the magnitude 7.8 quake that struck near Wenchuan County. The county is 90 kilometers west-north-west of Chengdu, the main city in the province.
The authorities said that 3.46-million buildings have been damaged or destroyed.
More than 300 deaths have also been confirmed in other provinces.
About 200 armed police officers arrived in Wenchuan County on Tuesday night for rescue operations.
But with 70 percent of roads and bridges severed or collapsed, heavy machinery and trucks are unable to enter the area, hampering full-scale rescue operations.
In Mianzhu City, about 100 kilometers northeast of the epicenter, 3,000 people have been confirmed dead. Communications with 3 of the city's mountainous regions have been completely cut off.
With continued rain and nighttime temperatures of about 10 degrees, the homeless and people trapped under the rubble face health risks.
2008/05/14 08:27
http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/14_11.html
It's the wrath of Heaven
How do they count the tolls in those rural areas?
Dear me, those Christian idiots are every where.
What we need is to know how we can help!
The Olympic torch relay shoud be stopped
The Beijing Olympic Games should be stopped
>>4
well, you could always donate to the chinese red cross
http://202.108.59.10/english/donate.htm
China rescuers seek survivors in hard-hit town
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080516/ap_on_re_as/china_broken_beichuan
14,000 remain buried under debris in China
http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/17_10.html