Cries for help
One of the worst-hit areas appears to be Beichuan county, part of the Mianyang city municipal area, about 50km from the epicentre.
Some 80% of buildings there were reported to have been destroyed, leaving between 3,000 and 5,000 people dead and up to 10,000 injured.
Meanwhile hundreds of people were reported to have been buried in two collapsed chemical plants in Shifang in Sichuan, and at least five other schools were reported to have collapsed.
And there are fears the death toll could turn out to be much higher once the damage in Wenchuan county - the epicentre - is assessed, says BBC China analyst Shirong Chen.
