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Strong Quake In China Kills Dozens, Injures Thousands

A rescuer carries a child to safety after she was pulled out of her collapsed home after an earthquake hit Ya'an City in southwest China's Sichuan province on Saturday.
AFP/Getty Images
A rescuer carries a child to safety after she was pulled out of her collapsed home after an earthquake hit Ya'an City in southwest China's Sichuan province on Saturday.

"A powerful earthquake jolted China's Sichuan province Saturday near where a devastating quake struck five years ago," The Associated Press writes. According to CNN, early estimates put the death toll around 100. More than 1,000 other people were reportedly injured. Both figures could change substantially as more information comes in. Reuters, for example, is already reporting that the number of injured may top 2,000.

The U.S. Geological Survey puts the estimated magnitude of the temblor at a strong 6.6. There's been a series of aftershocks since the initial quake.

As the AP reminds readers, "the area lies near the same Longmenshan fault where the devastating 7.9-magnitude quake struck May 12, 2008, leaving more than 90,000 people dead or missing and presumed dead."

All Things Considered was on assignment in Chengdu, China, when that devastating quake hit in 2008. It's coverage is collected here.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.