Expert: Wenchuan earthquake as huge as Tangshan earthquake in 1976

BEIJING, May 13 -- The strength of this earthquake is being compared to the destructive force of the Tangshan earthquake in 1976 which killed tens of thousands. Seismologists are urging calm and telling the public not to believe rumors about more earthquakes.

    Jiang Haikun says the energy from the Wenchuan earthquake was as huge as the Tangshan earthquake in 1976, which killed 240,000 people.

    Jiang Haikun, China Seismological Network Center, said, "The strength of the earthquake is big and it has released a huge amount of energy so that many parts of the country felt the quake."

    He emphasized that Beijing did not experience a separate earthquake.

    Jiang Haiku said, "The quake we felt in Beijing today was not a separate earthquake. It was just the aftershocks from the Wenchuan earthquake in the afternoon."

    Jiang Haikun also says his center's research shows China and its neighbors are currently in a relatively-active period for earthquakes.

    Jiang Haiku said, "For example, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake occurred in Japan recently. On the Chinese mainland, a 6.9 magnitude quake took place in Tibet in January, while March saw a 7.3 magnitude quake in Yutian in Xinjiang and now we have a 7.8 magnitude quake in Wenchuan. So at the moment there is a trend of earthquakes in China's mainland and its neighboring countries."

    He also urged residents not to trust rumors they heard. He stressed no destructive earthquake near Beijing is likely to occur in the near future.

    (Source: CCTV.com)