A powerful earthquake in central China on Monday killed more than 10,000 people, and the death toll is expected to increase as rescue workers continue to pull bodies from homes, schools, factories and other buildings in the areas hit hardest by the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that shook Sichuan Province.

The earthquake may prove to be an environmental disaster as well as a human tragedy.

China Earthquake Also Puts Environment at Risk
Two chemical plants in Shifang city were destroyed, burying hundreds of people and spilling 80 tons of ammonia. Wenchuan County is home to 112,000 people as well as the Wolong Nature Reserve, the world’s leading research and breeding facility for endangered giant pandas that are native to China. The fate of the reserve and the citizens of Wenchuan County is unknown, because the area was at the epicenter of the earthquake, which knocked out all roads and communication services.

As many as 900 students may have been buried when several schools collapsed, and thousands of people were killed or injured in counties throughout the province. Authorities are worried that landslides and other damage may prevent relief and rescue workers from reaching people who need help, which could result in many more deaths.

China Earthquake Shock Waves Felt Throughout Asia
At least seven additional earthquakes, all measuring between 4.0- and 6.0-magnitudes, occurred within three hours after the initial quake at 2:28 p.m. local time, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported. China's Seismological Bureau said the earthquake affected more than half of China’s provinces, cities and towns. Shocks were felt as far away as Beijing, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand.

In 1976, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit the northern Chinese city of Tangshan and killed 255,000 people. That tragedy was the most devastating death toll from an earthquake in the last four centuries and the second largest in recorded history, according to the USGS.

Also Read:

• Death toll in China earthquake up to nearly 9,000 – Associated Press
• Thousands Killed by Huge China Quake – CNN.com
• Thousands Dead in 7.8 Earthquake in China -- About.com World News

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