An earthquake with a rating of 7.9 struck China Monday killing 11,921 to date, and injuring thousands according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Countless bodies have still yet to be found among the debris and once all is said and done, an estimated 18,000 are feared to be dead.

In some parts along western China, 80% of the town's structures are destroyed by this violent storm. Many are left with no lines of communication, as telephone lines were ripped through, not to mention no place to turn for shelter, clothing or food. This is the biggest natural disaster that has happened to China since 1976, when an earthquake hit the city of Tangshan, located in eastern China.

The first earthquake struck Wenchuan County, with a smaller earthquake following shortly after in Tongzhou, which is located in southeast Beijing. Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Luo Pingfei told Xinhua news agency that the earthquake was felt everywhere except in the Jilin, Helongjiang and Xinjiang areas.