Quake in east China kills twelve

[Eugene]

Quake in east China kills twelve
26 Nov 2005 06:20:03 GMT
Source: Reuters

BEIJING, Nov 26 (Reuters) - An earthquake killed 12 people, injured
nearly 400 and destroyed 8,500 homes in Jiangxi province in eastern
China on Saturday morning, the official Xinhua agency reported.

Some 130,000 homes were damaged in the worst-hit Jiujiang and Ruicheng
counties, while 420,000 people were evacuated to safer areas as
emergency officials rushed tents to the zone to shelter the homeless.

The quake, which measured 5.7 on the Richter scale, hit at 8.49 am
local time. It was followed around 20 minutes later by two aftershocks,
Xinhua said.

<snip>

More: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP65298.htm

[displacedtexan]

1. Hm. The people were assured "there would be no earthquake."

From the NYT (http://tinyurl.com/77loa):

Spill in China Brings Danger, and Cover-Up

By JIM YARDLEY
Published: November 26, 2005

HARBIN, China, Nov. 25 - A toxic 50-mile band of contaminated river water slowly washed through this frigid provincial capital on Friday, leaving schools and many businesses closed, forcing millions of people to spend a third straight day without running water and raising fears of a long-term environmental disaster. --snip--

The city tried to convince the public that a shutdown was necessary to conduct routine repairs on the pipes. Suspicions instantly erupted. There had already been an inexplicable rash of rumors that the government had detected signs of an earthquake. Now those rumors escalated, and enough people panicked that officials had to confirm the spill, but the public relations damage was already done.

It seems that in their efforts to hide a chemical spill, Harbin officials may have helped fuel unfounded fears of an earthquake. The provincial earthquake bureau has since issued a reassuring statement that no temblors are predicted.

[pushycat]

2. Did the Chinese gov hire Rendon? They learn quickly. eom

[Boo Boo]

3. China is a big country; you sure Harbin is located near the quake? /nt