Nearly 10,000 reported killed by China quake

[Villavic]

I can't believe there is not thread in the Ledge about this tragedy yet.

An expert told CNN the 7.9-magnitude quake at about 2:45 p.m. Monday was the largest the region has seen "for over a generation."

Residents as far as Chongqing -- about 200 miles from the epicenter in Sichuan Province -- spent the night outdoors, too afraid of aftershocks to sleep indoors

"I have seen many collapsed civilian houses, and the rocks dropped from mountains on the roadside are everywhere," the head of the unit, Li Zaiyuan, told Xinhua.

Added CNN Correspondent John Vause: "The roads here are terrible in the best of times ... right now they're down right atrocious. They've resorted to going in one man at a time on foot."

Nearly all the confirmed deaths were in Sichuan Province, but rescuers were hindered because roads linking it to the provincial capital, Chengdu, were damaged, Xinhua reported.

Local radio quoted disaster relief officials as saying a third of the buildings in Wenchuan collapsed from the quake and another third were seriously damaged.

The earthquake was powerful enough to be felt throughout most of China (and even Bangkok). Many children were buried under the rubble of their schools.

The Chinese government said the death toll was sure to rise.