China aftershock destroys 71,000 homes; 6 killed By

CHRISTOPHER BODEEN/AP
May 26
1 hour, 55 minutes ago


CHENGDU, China - A powerful aftershock destroyed tens of thousands of homes in central China on Sunday, killing six people and straining recovery efforts from the country's worst earthquake in three decades. More than 500 others were injured.

Meanwhile, soldiers rushed with explosives to unblock a debris-clogged river threatening to flood homeless quake survivors.

The fresh devastation came after a magnitude 6.0 aftershock — among the most powerful recorded since the initial May 12 quake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The China National Seismic Network said the aftershock was the strongest of dozens in the nearly two weeks after the disaster.

The new tremor killed two people in Sichuan province and injured more than 480 others, 41 seriously, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The news agency said Monday that the aftershock also killed four people and injured 20 others seriously in neighboring Shaanxi province.

Some 71,000 homes that had survived the original quake were leveled, and another 200,000 were in danger of collapse from the aftershock that caused office towers to sway in Beijing, 800 miles away..."

+ Several pics/slide-show at:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080526/...wyhraZAbus0NUE

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