1. Map of the area

2. What Happened Earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale This was followed up by over 350 aftershocks which were felt in the capital Bejing- over 1500 miles away!

3. Responses Slow progress Poor weather has hampered aid efforts, and rescuers have been forced to trek to areas cut off by the quake damage and search through the rubble with their bare hands. Officials for the Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Railways told reporters that road conditions were impeding relief work. "We may have 10 machines but given the road condition only one excavator can used at one time, and we can only push forward one metre by one metre," one said.

4. Effects The earthquake on Monday 12 th May 2008 was the worst to strike China since more than 240,000 people were killed in Tangshan in 1976. Thousands more are still trapped in the rubble two days after the 7.9 quake struck, causing landslides and destroying homes, schools and whole villages.

5. The Death Toll Sichuan's vice governor Li Chengyun said incomplete figures suggested 14,463 people were dead, another 14,051 were missing, 25,788 were buried in the debris and 64,746 had been injured, Xinhua reports.