The earthquake that shook central China has claimed at least 7,651 lives and injured 10,000 more in Sichuan province, the Washington Post reports. In Beichuan county, which accounted for more than 5,000 dead, local news said 80% of the buildings had been toppled.
Chinese news agencies recall a litany of horrors: 900 students trapped in a collapsed high school, several hundred pinned under rubble of two chemical plants, hospitals destroyed region-wide. President Bush said the US “stands ready to help” if China requests it. (More China stories.)