An earthquake measuring 7.8 on Richter scale struck China’s Sichuan province on Monday (May 12) at 2.28pm Beijing time.
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao (with the megaphone) is at the disaster zone to coordinate the rescue and relief effort (Image by
Xinhuanet)
The death toll is 11921 at the time of writing, and the number is expected to rise as rescue missions are being carried on. The worst hit area is the Beichuan county, about 160 kilometres northeast of the quake epicentre in Wenchuan.
This is the worst earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake which claimed around 250,000 lives.
Thousands of toads were spotted at a bridge in Taizhou, Jiangsu province, China, on May 9. According to local expert, the toads were enduring a mass migration because of the depleting oxygen resource in a nearby river… but from the pic it seems like the chance of survival for the toads are not looking good on the road either.
That’s lots of toads (Image from
Yangtse)
Update - this story was first shared before the Sichuan earthquake on May 13. There are speculations that the toads migration was an omen, and the rumours were heated up as a similar toad migration phenomenon was spotted in Mianzhu, one of the quake affected areas, just a couple of days before the disaster.
Personally, I don’t think the toad migrations are related to the quake in anyway, but I can’t be sure… as the world is always full of mysteries. Regardless, what really matters now is to rescue the quake survivals and help them rebuild their homes. Try to help a bit if possible ok?
