Fears of new quake prompt panic in Chinese town

CHENGDU, China-Tens of thousands of panicked residents rushed into the streets of Chengdu in southwest China early on Tuesday, alarmed by a television report that predicted another powerful earthquake would hit the region.The pandemonium triggered by the TV report, as China observed three days of mourning for the nearly 34,000 killed in the May 12 earthquake, showed how people's nerves have been stretched to breaking point by the disaster,and aftershocks. Cars jammed roads leading out of Chengdu, and people carrying bedding headed for open ground after hearing that another earthquake of 8-magnitude would shake the ravaged province of Sichuan overnight.On Monday, sirens wailed across the country of 1.3 billion people and millions of Chinese stood in silence for three minutes in homage to the victims of the disaster, the worst to hit China since 1976.The death toll was raised to more than 34,000 on Monday, with some 245,000 people injured.But the number of dead could rise dramatically as the Communist Party chief in Sichuan said nearly 30,000 were missing. A further 5,000 are believed still buried under rubble.Provincial television and radio reported that apart from the earthquake that would strike Sichuan, there would also be 6-magnitude tremors in Chengdu."They quoted a government department, so everyone's heading for clear space. I'd be careful if I were you," called a young man surnamed Huang.

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As in the days of Noah....