Breaking News: 6.6 Earthquake Strikes Sichuan

It's been a horrible, horrible week for news. This morning, just as the drama in Boston was coming to a close, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Sichuan, near the town of Lingqiong, which lies just 115km away from the provincial capital of Chengdu. Aftershocks have been occurring throughout the day.

At this point, the numbers of casualties is unclear, but there are already reports that they number "in the hundreds."

This is especially bad news for the region as Sichuan was rocked by a devastating 8.0 quake in 2008 that claimed 68,000 lives and left almost 5 million people homeless. Today's quake may very well be yet another aftershock of this previous seismic event.

The US Geological Survey has a page up with projections of the estimated fatalities and economic losses and photos of the devastation have been piling up on social networks.

Chengdu Living posted a first-hand account of the morning tremor:

At 8:06am the earthquake struck, and violently shook the city for about 40 minutes before subsiding. After that time, aftershocks continued every minute or so for the proceeding 30 minutes. Photos fell off my wall and as soon as I arose from bed to take count of what was happening I could already see my neighbors dashing out of their apartments into the street, many dressed in nightgowns and bathrobes.

Additional first-hand accounts from Chengdu Living readers can be found in their forum, and Baidu also has a Chinese-language page rounding up news of the quake here.

Relief and aid efforts will be ramping over the next few days and we will keep you posted as to how Beijingers can help.

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Sichuan Fundraiser on Sunday, April 28th, at Haze:

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The party will raise funds to rebuild Ya'an in the wake of this week's devastating earthquake that claimed at least 200 lives.

Tickets cost RMB 100 and will go Jet Li's One Foundation Project – a charity which is said to be well-trusted among those wishing to support Sichuan. This might be because Jet Li himself has been updating Weibo followers on where their money is going.

The line up will include Haze residents Pancake Lee, Yang Bing and Kaize, among other DJs – Beijing's techno legend Mickey Zhang for one.

Jerry Chan, Digital Marketing & Content Strategy Director

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Agence France-Presse ‏@AFP 1m
#BREAKING: Nearly 30 dead, 400 injured in China quake: Xinhua citing local official

Jerry Chan, Digital Marketing & Content Strategy Director

From Tea Leaf Nation:

As China Experiences Its Most Severe Earthquake Since 2008, Sorrow and Angst Fill Social Media

http://www.tealeafnation.com/2013/04/earthquake-hits-yaan-filling-weibo-with-wishes-and-sorrow/

Jerry Chan, Digital Marketing & Content Strategy Director