America's North Shore Journal

Shanghaiist

UPDATE 82, 12:09am: The New York Times confirms that 2,300 cell phone towers were knocked down. There are “no signs” that the earthquake has damaged the Three Gorges Dam, a few hundred miles east of the epicenter.

UPDATE 83, 12:21am: Japan, Taiwan, Germany, and Russia are all offering assistance in the rescue effort.

UPDATE 84, 12:29am: 61 dead and 176 injured in Sha’anxi province.

UPDATE 85, 12:45am: From Xinhua, China Telecom reporting that fiber-optic cables between Chengdu and Xi’an have been severed resulting in problems with telephone service. China Netcom reports that three Internet routes from Sichuan to other provinces have also been severed.

UPDATE 86, 1:01am: AP reporting that rescue efforts are being hampered by landslides that are blocking the route from Chengdu to Wenchuan

UPDATE 87, 1:27am: Yahoo! News has many photos of the earthquake damage.

UPDATE 88, 1:31am: “Damn the Earthquake Bureau!”

UPDATE 89, 1:49am: And so it begins, less than 12 hours after the earthquake: “Those who died in the earthquake are victims of the economic miracle,” so says The First Post.

UPDATE 90, 2:18am: As we expected, the notice we found on the Sichuan provincial government website of the Abeizhou Seismic Bureau (assuring residents the news of an impending earthquake were just rumours) that we told you about in Update 16 has been removed. We’re not sure when this was removed exactly, but this probably won’t be the last time we’re hearing of the Abeizhou Seismic Bureau. Screenshot still available here for those of you that missed the earlier update.