China, rocked by an earthquake, a big one, well 7.8 anyway. The details.

Nearly 10,000 people were killed by the earthquake that hammered southwest China, officials said on Tuesday as rescuers struggled to reach the worst-hit areas, where many more may have died.

Rescuers worked frantically through the night, pulling bodies from schools, homes, factories and hospitals that were demolished by the 7.8 magnitude quake, which rippled from a mountainous area of Sichuan province across much of China on Monday afternoon.

The toll from China’s worst earthquake for over three decades appeared sure to climb as troops struggled on foot to reach the worst-hit area, Wenchuan, a hilly county of 112,000 people 100 km (62 miles) from Sichuan’s provincial capital, Chengdu.

More details. Pics. That rivals the typhoon in Burma. Well maybe not as many dead but still a big disaster. Doubt many of their buildings were up to code either. Lots of children killed too, collapsed schools and all. Tragic.

Can’t blame that one on global warming, Al.