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Devastating Earthquake Kills Up to 50,000 in China
Last week a terrible earthquake hit China's Sichuan province. The earthquake toppled buildings, destroyed roads and buried entire towns under dirt and rubble. Getting help to the people where the quake hit has been very hard because the roads were so damaged.
The Chinese government estimates that as many as 50,000 people may have died. Another 4.8 million have been forced to flee their homes. To make things even worse, dams were damaged and rivers and lakes clogged by dirt are rising over their banks. So the danger of floods is growing.
Earthquakes happen when the earth's crust releases energy called seismic waves. Underneath the ground, there are giant plates of rock. They push up against each other until one of them slips, and that moves the ground.
Most earthquakes are so small that we don't even notice them. In fact, tiny earthquakes happen all the time in places like California, Alaska, Pakistan, and Japan. Every now and then, a big earthquake happens, and that can knock down buildings and cause other problems like what happened in China.
Last week's earthquake was the worst natural disaster to strike China in 30 years. On Monday the entire country stood silent for the three minutes to honor the memory all those who have died.
I'm Michelle and that's what happened in the world this week.
Photo: AP
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