Earthquakes in Chile 8.8 + Japan 7.0 and 2 Tsunamis warnings and a Giant Iceberg.

Originally posted by VinciVirus
reply to post by The time lord

 

The giant iceberg reminds me of the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" by Roland Emmerich. If I remember correctly, Sam's father Jack mentioned a chunk of ice the size of Rhode Island broke off the Arctic shell. This chunk of ice would later affect the balance of salt water and fresh water, then causing the extreme weather.

Rhode Island and Luxemburg are about the same in size. I know the movie is an exaggeration but it's still possible for this iceberg to have an affect weather later on.

I put the move on my DVD player because the UK was experiencing the worst winter weather in 30 years just to be the mood, as you know Washington DC is experiencing a lot of snow dubbed Snowmageddon.
For some reason the papers in the UK are saying we have experienced the warmest January in years, maybe it's a coverup because it does not make sense here.

www.bbc.co.uk...

It may come as a surprise to many of you, shivering through the coldest British winter for decades, but data released this evening shows that global temperatures, as measured by satellites, rocketed in January to a new record.

The global-average lower tropospheric temperature anomaly rose to +0.72 deg. C in January 2010 on the UAH satellite measure. This is the warmest January in the 32-year satellite-based data record.

The global-average warmth is approaching the warmth reached during the 1997-98 El Nino, which peaked in February of 1998. 1998 on most measures was the hottest year on record.

This measure is important to sceptics who question the validity of land based measurements, which, they say, may be compromised to some extent by the urban heat island effect. The UAH satellite data has shown some warming since it began measurements in the late 1970's - but not as much as land based thermometers show. These satellite measurements are not calibrated to surface thermometer data in any way.

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Is it me or have has there been an increase of Tsunami's in last 5 years, in the 90s or even the 80s it was not a word that was well known and now not only is it well known there has been a increase of them since 2004 onwards.

Not only that but flooding all over the world too massive icebergs melts and odd solar activity.
Of course how would we know all this if we did not have the technology to know these things and report them, some say the headlines have been reported already in the past within prophecy.

Luke 21:25 >>

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

In terms of a tsunami it was a bit of an anticlimax as nothing serious happened which in way is better than a disaster at least they can warn people in other countries from it.

This thread is turning into a blog, which I don't mind.

Another end of world experience was in Messina south of Italy where a village is no longer safe after a massive landslide hole opened up. No one was killed of here but for some reason it never made the news in the UK and probably no many have seen this video since people were evacuated.
3500 people in Italy have died in similar circumstances in the last 50 years with mud and land and mountain slides over the years.

We have reports now of flooding once more all over Europe, is the earth it self becoming less stable?

An ariel view of the mountain side caving in. The place is still unstable and with increased rain this could happen a lot more in Italy and Brazil and places alike.


www.youtube.com...


www.youtube.com...



[edit on 28-2-2010 by The time lord]

reply to post by The time lord


I hope you excuse my humor. If that's what you want to call it. I think
the earth 's becoming more unstable is quite evident in the vids you provided.

The land seems as if it is being drawn by gravity dosn't it? Instead of
being pushed by more land. I watched the last vid with that in mind
and it looks way scary that way. Completely different feel to it.

Full moon may wreak havoc tonight.
The whole earth seems to be on the verge of coming unglued.
So many threads I can't keep up. I' m sure there is only so many things the Media would allow at once. Who knows what else could be happening
they know about but havn't said anything. I mean when it's so obvious the games they play with information. How can we trust them at all.
I only know I don't.

We can not trust all the media outlets of course but the only real trust these days is what you see with your own eyes. I have felt the earth move here in the UK for longer than a year after our largest earthquake in years back in 27 February 2008 and I remember the previous on Monday, 23 September, 2002 aswell around the same night time.

Ever since the 2008 one a year or so later I could still feel minor movements, but on the news they said that is quite normal to happen even after a year after a quake. The difference between this and the 2002 one was that everyone vertually here in the UK heard or felt it, so it was not something cinfined to a small radius but the whole isle it seemed. So if in future there is a larger quake it could effect the whole UK, but since they are rare here I should not worry, then again if the earth is changing then everyone is going to be effected.

How come letely in the last 5 years there has been the worse of everything lately, from hurricanes, Tsunami's richter scale sizes, snowstorms, bush fires and floods?

News just in;


There is a new Tsunami warning coming from Chile at this very minute, I am not sure how bad it is or it is a just a warning. This news comes in at 7pm UK time March 3rd 2010 in case you don't know already.

reply to post by The time lord


do you believe that we are headed to the end of this world..?? and whats next disaster do you think would occur??

This video shows the Tsunami warnings on the 27th of Febuary 2010 from the Chile earthquake in which the major news channels broadcast alerted the people. Chile it self experienced the wall of sea coming in like the Indonesian Tsunami.





Maybe the seas will flow with Blood, maybe that mountain is is a giant iceberg that falls into the sea where third of mankind dies.

8:7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
8:8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;

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[edit on 6-3-2010 by The time lord]

An interesting title by the livescience website describing how 2010 has shown already and increase of human death toll and natural disasters.

They say since the last 2000 or so years the world is becoming more prone to earthquakes and extream weather along with many species being killed along the way and the increase in violence and crime.

It can be a sad but true notion in how silly the people of this planet are becoming, just read some of your news discovers as it gets worse every year and how the earth is burbing mankind out of its way like it responds to our actions, some call it Karma so call it the endtimes.

Of course there are other factors involved no doubt in the maths but that is for to decide in expanding this thread.


www.livescience.com...

A Disastrous Year: 2010 Death Toll Already Abnormally High

Just a few months into 2010, and Mother Nature has delivered a slew of costly and deadly natural disasters. From the catastrophic Haiti and Chilean earthquakes to the U.S. blizzard that descended on Washington, D.C., last month, which was mostly just inconvenient by comparison, 2010 is already above average in terms of natural-disaster casualties.

In comparison to previous years, the number of casualties from natural disasters in 2010, which is already well above 200,000, is outside the norm. Yet as in other disastrous years, the high toll this year is due largely to a single event.

Over the decade from 2000 to the end of 2009, the yearly average was 78,000, according to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). For the 1990s, the average was 43,000, and the 1980s was 75,000. Disaster experts say the rise in tragedy is at least partly due to increases in urban populations.

Last year was below the decadal average with 10,416 natural disaster-related deaths, according to the ISDR, with most resulting from a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia on Sept. 30.


The Haiti earthquake is responsible for the majority of the 2010 disaster death toll. With at least 220,000 deaths out of a population of around just 9 million, the number of fatalities almost matched those experienced during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which struck a far larger population, said Kathleen Tierney, a professor of sociology and director of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder. This proportionally high number of causalities has led some to call the Haiti earthquake the "worst natural disaster to occur in modern times," Tierney said.

"The Haiti earthquake is a true catastrophe of a type that we really haven't seen historically, in terms of recorded history, in terms of its impact on a single society," Tierney said.

This will also turn out to be a costly year at the hands of Mother Nature. The Haiti earthquake alone is estimated to cost $8 billion to $14 billion, according to the Inter-American Development Bank.

The U.N. ISDR reported earthquakes have caused the deadliest disasters in the past decade.

Other notable disasters in 2010:

•Chile earthquake: The 8.8 temblor was the fifth largest on record, and moved the city of Concepción at least 10 feet (3 meters) to the west. The quake killed 500 to 700 individuals, with numbers still coming in, according to news reports. Total recovery costs could exceed $15 billion, news reports say.
•Turkey earthquake: The 6.0 earthquake hit eastern Turkey on Monday and kill approximately 41 people, according to the AP.
•China snowstorm: A series of snowstorms and freezing weather has hit China's western region of Xinjiang since Dec. The storms have affected millions and resulted in 30 deaths, the AP reported this month.
•Washington, D.C., snowstorm: The blizzard that blanketed the northeastern United States last month with record snowfalls left thousands without power, caused hundreds of accidents and resulted in at least 2 fatalities, according to news reports. For D.C. alone, the price tag is estimated to be $41 million.


Environment
A Disastrous Year: 2010 Death Toll Already Abnormally HighBy Rachael Rettner, LiveScience Staff Writer

posted: 11 March 2010 06:11 pm ET
.Buzz up! del.icio.us Digg It! Newsvine redditComments (5) | Recommend (8) .
Global disaster death tolls vary greatly year-to-year. But they have also risen over time. Disaster experts say the rise in tragedy is at least partly due to increases in urban populations. Credit: LiveScience
Full Size 1 of 1.Global disaster death tolls vary greatly year-to-year. But they have also risen over time. Disaster experts say the rise in tragedy is at least partly due to increases in urban populations. Credit: LiveScienceJust a few months into 2010, and Mother Nature has delivered a slew of costly and deadly natural disasters. From the catastrophic Haiti and Chilean earthquakes to the U.S. blizzard that descended on Washington, D.C., last month, which was mostly just inconvenient by comparison, 2010 is already above average in terms of natural-disaster casualties.

In comparison to previous years, the number of casualties from natural disasters in 2010, which is already well above 200,000, is outside the norm. Yet as in other disastrous years, the high toll this year is due largely to a single event.

Over the decade from 2000 to the end of 2009, the yearly average was 78,000, according to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). For the 1990s, the average was 43,000, and the 1980s was 75,000. Disaster experts say the rise in tragedy is at least partly due to increases in urban populations.

Last year was below the decadal average with 10,416 natural disaster-related deaths, according to the ISDR, with most resulting from a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia on Sept. 30.

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www.sobe.salford.ac.uk/CoursesThe Haiti earthquake is responsible for the majority of the 2010 disaster death toll. With at least 220,000 deaths out of a population of around just 9 million, the number of fatalities almost matched those experienced during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which struck a far larger population, said Kathleen Tierney, a professor of sociology and director of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder. This proportionally high number of causalities has led some to call the Haiti earthquake the "worst natural disaster to occur in modern times," Tierney said.

"The Haiti earthquake is a true catastrophe of a type that we really haven't seen historically, in terms of recorded history, in terms of its impact on a single society," Tierney said.

This will also turn out to be a costly year at the hands of Mother Nature. The Haiti earthquake alone is estimated to cost $8 billion to $14 billion, according to the Inter-American Development Bank.

The U.N. ISDR reported earthquakes have caused the deadliest disasters in the past decade.

Other notable disasters in 2010:

•Chile earthquake: The 8.8 temblor was the fifth largest on record, and moved the city of Concepción at least 10 feet (3 meters) to the west. The quake killed 500 to 700 individuals, with numbers still coming in, according to news reports. Total recovery costs could exceed $15 billion, news reports say.
•Turkey earthquake: The 6.0 earthquake hit eastern Turkey on Monday and kill approximately 41 people, according to the AP.
•China snowstorm: A series of snowstorms and freezing weather has hit China's western region of Xinjiang since Dec. The storms have affected millions and resulted in 30 deaths, the AP reported this month.
•Washington, D.C., snowstorm: The blizzard that blanketed the northeastern United States last month with record snowfalls left thousands without power, caused hundreds of accidents and resulted in at least 2 fatalities, according to news reports. For D.C. alone, the price tag is estimated to be $41 million.
Location matters

Disaster-related fatalities aren't just a matter of where Mother Nature strikes, but also the susceptibility of the population in harm's way, Tierney said.

"Often it's not the size of the event itself in terms of magnitude...it's the vulnerability of what's on top of the Earth when those earthquakes occur," Tierney said.

Another example of how important location is: the 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan China in 2008, causing 87,476 fatalities.

But while it may seem like the Earth has undergone more than its fair share of disasters lately, experts say the events of this year are not related. The different types of disasters that can occur, from wildfires to earthquakes to hurricanes, operate independently of one another.

"For all of the phenomena we're talking about, they all have their own dynamics," Tierney said.

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Maybe there are an increase in earthquakes and this could coincide with man's sinful nature. This nature may include greed and violence with one another and that could trigger an off balance with nature, we know how we are hunting down animals to extinction is causing danger to ecosytems.

Other recent news;


Wed Mar 24, 10:46 am

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – An earthquake of 5.0 magnitude occurred near the eastern Turkish city of Bingol on Wednesday, data from the United States Geological Survey showed.

There were no immediate reports of death or damage.

The earthquake struck only weeks after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake killed dozens of people near the eastern Turkish city of Elazig.

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More news updates about earthquakes.

6.0-magnitude earthquake hits west of Manila

Thu Mar 25, 4:26 am ET
MANILA, Philippines – A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck west of Manila on Thursday, the seismology institute reported, causing buildings in the Philippine capital to shake and sending frightened workers out of their offices.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, and no tsunami alert was issued. Buildings in Manila shook for about 30 seconds.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology initially reported the tremor had a magnitude of 6.2, but lowered it to 6.0 after receiving more field data, said its director, Renato Solidum.

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>

The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls--never to rise again.
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Another Chile Earthquake hit today, for the dates and times of these events please allow a few days in between when they were written in this thread but this news is just in.

Another earthquake and 7.2 is not small either, they are lucky not more damage happened. Then again we might have to see what updates they have on it.
It is quite strange how many have happened lately since this year, will 2010 be plagued throughout the year?


news.bbc.co.uk...

Earthquake rocks western Mexico
Seismologist Lucy Jones: "There will be aftershocks over the next few days"

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake has hit the Mexican peninsula of Baja California, killing two people and causing tremors as far away as Nevada.

Some people are still trapped in their homes in the city of Mexicali, where a state of emergency has been declared.

The quake struck at 1540 (2240 GMT), 26km (16 miles) south-west of Guadalupe Victoria in Baja California, according to the US Geological Survey.

It was the worst quake to hit the region for many years, officials said.

The US Geological Survey said some 20 million people felt tremors from the largest quake to affect the area since 1992.

It struck at a relatively shallow depth of 10km, the survey said.

Mexican civil protection officials said a man had died when his home collapsed outside Mexicali, near the earthquake's epicentre.

Another man was run over by a car in Mexicali after he ran out of his house during the quake, officials said.

Rescue teams with digging equipment and sniffer dogs have been despatched to the worst-affected areas of Mexicali from the nearby city of Tijuana.

The regional government declared a state of emergency in Mexicali, a city of about 900,000 people.

The quake caused buildings to sway in Tijuana, where Easter celebrations were interrupted as families rushed for open ground.

There were power cuts and hospitals and public buildings were evacuated in Mexico's Baja California state.

In the United States, firefighters were called out to inspect roads, bridges and power-lines.

The LA Fire Department also responded to a number of automatic alarms and people being stuck in lifts, reports said.

Rides were temporarily suspended at the Disneyland theme park in California.

Many readers who contacted the BBC spoke of the "surreal" swaying of buildings for up to a minute, although Steve Rider from Palm Springs in California said it was "the most powerful earthquake I have ever felt".

Kyle Stockburger, in Los Angeles, said: "Everyone stopped talking in the restaurant and the overhead lights started swaying back and forth. It wasn't violent, just unreal. It felt like the whole earth was swaying."
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A 7.8 earthquake has hit sumartra within half an hour of 12 o'clock UK time on Tuesday/Wednesday.


The news said there are around 17 world wide earthquakes that hit the 7 mark, but how many of those are in populated areas?

I won't lie, Just now here in the UK I just felt a jolt like something poking up on the ground. When that happens I know it is not from the UK but else where on the planet, I have looked at British BGS records to confirm my findings. I believe now that these minor movements are not from the UK but some where around the world.

I have felt wobbles and shifts for over a two years now since that UK earthquake.

Again just felt like the earth is moving again but must be like small creeks you get sitting on a computer chair, difference is the whole thing moves with it. They are not large but very minute you have to be very still and observent.

7.8-magnitude quake strikes Indonesia By the CNN Wire Staff
April 6, 2010 7:08 p.m. EDT
RELATED TOPICS
Indonesia
Earthquakes
(CNN) -- A tsunami watch was in effect for Indonesia after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake rattled the nation early Wednesday, according to geological officials.

The temblor struck 125 miles off the coast of Sibolga on Indonesia's Sumatra island, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The quake hit at a depth of 28.6 miles at 5:15 a.m. (6:15 p.m. ET, Tuesday) USGS said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

A "destructive widespread tsunami" is not expected, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, but a local tsunami could affect coastal areas within 62 miles (100 kilometers) of the quake's epicenter.

Scientists are monitoring data from ocean buoys to determine whether the earthquake already generated a tsunami, said geophysicist Gerard Fryer of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

If a tsunami does erupt from the quake in shallow waters, Fryer said, it would be very small and not move much water.

Scientists said they do not expect the tsunami to affect the west coast of North America.

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www.cnn.com...

[edit on 6-4-2010 by The time lord]

Although powerful and high numbered of these recent earthquakes they are always located to one place and it seems disaster movies like to makeout that they destroy whole nations in one go. The nature of the earthquakes are based on faultlines and the whole line does not move just parts of it. They may have a tremour with a large radius but rarely does that 7 point on the ricter scale fill that whole area, it loses momentum like ripples in water.

Who thinks we are going to see more large quakes for this year, will it be something buiding up in frequency?

Another 7 magnitude Earthquake making the news.

uk.news.yahoo.com...

A major quake of magnitude 7.1 struck the Solomon Islands on Sunday, according to the US Geological Survey. Skip related content
Related photos / videos
Magnitude 7.1 quake hits Solomon Islands

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake, initially reported as a magnitude 7.5, could "generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within 62 miles of the earthquake epicenter."

A magnitude 7.1 quake can cause widespread and heavy damage.

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Again we have another earthquake after another, this of course just to the news picking stories that could effect people or ones that did. But is this on the increase?

news.bbc.co.uk...

Some 400 people have died and thousands are feared injured after a magnitude-6.9 quake hit western China's Qinghai province, officials say.

The powerful tremor struck remote Yushu county, 800km (500 miles) south-west of the provincial capital Xining, at 0749 (2349 GMT), at a shallow depth of 10km.

Most of the buildings in the worst-hit town of Jiegu were wrecked, and landslides have cut off roads.

Police said hundreds of survivors had already been pulled from the rubble.

And at least one aid flight had been able to land at the local airport, according to officials.

Senior Yushu official Huang Liming announced the latest death toll of 400, as the extent of the damage became clearer.

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I have another thread going based on all earthquakes this year based on them being 7 or higher magnitudes.
www.abovetopsecret.com...
This is the link to that thread, if you like to input then please do if any quakes happen that fit the subject of the thread.

BEIJING — A powerful earthquake in western China killed at least 400 people, injured 10,000 and left many buried under debris on Wednesday, Chinese state media reported.

The quake, which struck at 7:49 a.m. in Qinghai Province, bordering Tibet, had a magnitude of 7.1, according to China’s earthquake agency. At least 18 aftershocks measuring more than 6.0 followed throughout the day, government officials said, according to Xinhua.

China’s earthquake agency said the quake centered on Yushu County, a remote and mountainous area sparsely populated by farmers and herdsmen, most of them ethnic Tibetans. The region, pocked with copper, tin and coal mines, is also rich in natural gas.

As with the devastating earthquake two years ago that killed 87,000 in neighboring Sichuan Province, many buildings collapsed, including schools. But with Qinghai’s far smaller and less dense population, the toll is likely to remain far lower.

A seismologist, Gu Guohua, said in an interview with the national broadcaster CCTV that 90 percent of the homes in the county seat, Jeigu, had collapsed. The houses, he said, were of “quite poor quality,” with many constructed of wood, mud and brick.

Among those still missing were 20 children buried in the wreckage of a primary school, and as many as 50 people were trapped beneath a collapsed office building that houses the Departments of Commerce and Industry, according to news reports.

“We’re in the process of trying to rescue the students,” Kang Zifu, a local fire department official, told CCTV on Wednesday afternoon. “We’re hurrying to help them.”

He said at least 32 survivors had been pulled from the debris.

The prefecture that includes Yushu is located on the Tibetan plateau, with a population that is more than 96 percent Tibetan and overwhelmingly poor. Many villages sit well above 16,000 feet, with freezing temperatures not uncommon in mid-April. By Wednesday evening, temperatures in the county seat had already dropped to 27 degrees.

China National Radio, citing an official with the local Red Cross Society of China, said that 70 percent of the school buildings had collapsed in neighboring Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, an area the size of South Korea that has a population of 350,000. But at least some of the schools had not begun classes yet.

Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, quoted a teacher surnamed Chang who said 5 of the 1,000 students at Yushu Primary School had died.

“Buildings in our school were all toppled,” Mr. Chang said. “Morning sessions had not begun when the quake happened. Some pupils ran out of the dorm alive, and those who had not escaped in time were buried.”

Karsum Nyima, an employee of a local television station in Yushu, told CCTV that Tuesday’s quake had sent people running into the streets not long after daybreak.

“All of a sudden, the houses collapsed,” he said. “It was a terrible earthquake. In the park, a Buddhist pagoda fell down. Everyone is in the street in front of their houses. They are trying to find family members.”

In the same broadcast, Wu Yong, an officer in the Chinese Army, said that the road to the airport was impassable and that soldiers were digging people out from collapsed homes by hand.

“The most important thing now is that this place is far from everything, with few accessible rescue troops available,” Mr. Wu said. “I feel like the number of dead and injured will keep going up.”

Officials said that rescue efforts were stymied by a lack of heavy equipment. Medical supplies and tents, they added, were in short supply. Phone calls to local government offices went unanswered on Wednesday afternoon.

State news media reported that 700 paramilitary officers were already working in the quake zone and that more than 4,000 others would be sent to assist in search and rescue efforts. The Civil Affairs Ministry said it would also send 5,000 tents and 100,000 coats and blankets.

Workers also were rushing to release water from a reservoir after cracks were discovered in a dam, according to the China Earthquake Administration.

Genqiu Renqin, a teacher who lives in Sichuan Province, about 60 miles from Yushu, said he felt the earth shake on Wednesday morning and immediately drove to see if relatives who lived near the epicenter were safe.

“Almost all of their homes were badly damaged, but luckily no one was seriously injured,” he said, speaking by phone from a town about 25 miles from the county seat. “All the people in the area are camping out for now.”

The affected area is part of a seismically active zone. Last August, Golmud, a city to the northwest of Yushu, was hit by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that destroyed dozens of homes but caused no deaths.

The epicenter of the quake Wednesday was related to the northward thrust of the Indian Plate against the Eurasian Plate, the same root of the Sichuan quake.

Xiyun Yang, Li Bibo and Zhang Jing contributed research.

A version of this article appeared in print on April 15, 2010, on page A12 of the New York edition.
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I have another thread going based on all earthquakes this year based on them being 7 or higher magnitudes.
www.abovetopsecret.com...
This is the link to that thread, if you like to input then please do if any quakes happen that fit the subject of the thread.

BEIJING — A powerful earthquake in western China killed at least 400 people, injured 10,000 and left many buried under debris on Wednesday, Chinese state media reported.

The quake, which struck at 7:49 a.m. in Qinghai Province, bordering Tibet, had a magnitude of 7.1, according to China’s earthquake agency. At least 18 aftershocks measuring more than 6.0 followed throughout the day, government officials said, according to Xinhua.

China’s earthquake agency said the quake centered on Yushu County, a remote and mountainous area sparsely populated by farmers and herdsmen, most of them ethnic Tibetans. The region, pocked with copper, tin and coal mines, is also rich in natural gas.

As with the devastating earthquake two years ago that killed 87,000 in neighboring Sichuan Province, many buildings collapsed, including schools. But with Qinghai’s far smaller and less dense population, the toll is likely to remain far lower.

A seismologist, Gu Guohua, said in an interview with the national broadcaster CCTV that 90 percent of the homes in the county seat, Jeigu, had collapsed. The houses, he said, were of “quite poor quality,” with many constructed of wood, mud and brick.

Among those still missing were 20 children buried in the wreckage of a primary school, and as many as 50 people were trapped beneath a collapsed office building that houses the Departments of Commerce and Industry, according to news reports.

“We’re in the process of trying to rescue the students,” Kang Zifu, a local fire department official, told CCTV on Wednesday afternoon. “We’re hurrying to help them.”

He said at least 32 survivors had been pulled from the debris.

The prefecture that includes Yushu is located on the Tibetan plateau, with a population that is more than 96 percent Tibetan and overwhelmingly poor. Many villages sit well above 16,000 feet, with freezing temperatures not uncommon in mid-April. By Wednesday evening, temperatures in the county seat had already dropped to 27 degrees.

China National Radio, citing an official with the local Red Cross Society of China, said that 70 percent of the school buildings had collapsed in neighboring Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, an area the size of South Korea that has a population of 350,000. But at least some of the schools had not begun classes yet.

Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, quoted a teacher surnamed Chang who said 5 of the 1,000 students at Yushu Primary School had died.

“Buildings in our school were all toppled,” Mr. Chang said. “Morning sessions had not begun when the quake happened. Some pupils ran out of the dorm alive, and those who had not escaped in time were buried.”

Karsum Nyima, an employee of a local television station in Yushu, told CCTV that Tuesday’s quake had sent people running into the streets not long after daybreak.

“All of a sudden, the houses collapsed,” he said. “It was a terrible earthquake. In the park, a Buddhist pagoda fell down. Everyone is in the street in front of their houses. They are trying to find family members.”

In the same broadcast, Wu Yong, an officer in the Chinese Army, said that the road to the airport was impassable and that soldiers were digging people out from collapsed homes by hand.

“The most important thing now is that this place is far from everything, with few accessible rescue troops available,” Mr. Wu said. “I feel like the number of dead and injured will keep going up.”

Officials said that rescue efforts were stymied by a lack of heavy equipment. Medical supplies and tents, they added, were in short supply. Phone calls to local government offices went unanswered on Wednesday afternoon.

State news media reported that 700 paramilitary officers were already working in the quake zone and that more than 4,000 others would be sent to assist in search and rescue efforts. The Civil Affairs Ministry said it would also send 5,000 tents and 100,000 coats and blankets.

Workers also were rushing to release water from a reservoir after cracks were discovered in a dam, according to the China Earthquake Administration.

Genqiu Renqin, a teacher who lives in Sichuan Province, about 60 miles from Yushu, said he felt the earth shake on Wednesday morning and immediately drove to see if relatives who lived near the epicenter were safe.

“Almost all of their homes were badly damaged, but luckily no one was seriously injured,” he said, speaking by phone from a town about 25 miles from the county seat. “All the people in the area are camping out for now.”

The affected area is part of a seismically active zone. Last August, Golmud, a city to the northwest of Yushu, was hit by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that destroyed dozens of homes but caused no deaths.

The epicenter of the quake Wednesday was related to the northward thrust of the Indian Plate against the Eurasian Plate, the same root of the Sichuan quake.

Xiyun Yang, Li Bibo and Zhang Jing contributed research.

A version of this article appeared in print on April 15, 2010, on page A12 of the New York edition.
Text