Over 4,000 aftershocks recorded after M-7.0 Lushan

BEIJING - As of 8:00 am Wednesday, 4,001 aftershocks had been recorded since a 7.0-magnitude earthquake shook Sichuan Province on Saturday, the China Earthquake Administration said.

There were 103 aftershocks above magnitude 3.0, including four between magnitudes 5.0 and and 5.9, 21 between magnitudes 4.0 and 4.9, and 78 between magnitudes 3.0 and 3.9, the administration said.

The death toll from the quake in Lushan County, Sichuan Province, has risen to at least 193, with more than 12,200 injured, authorities said.

In the 24-hour period from 8:00 a.m. Tuesday to 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, three aftershocks between magnitudes 3.0 and 3.9 were recorded among a total of 668 aftershocks, without none registering above magnitude 4.0.

Zhou Rongjun, a researcher with the Sichuan provincial earthquake administration, said there have clearly been more aftershocks following the Lushan earthquake than other 7.0-magnitude quakes, but the total will still be below that following the 8.0-magnitude earthquake that devastated Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province, on May 12, 2008.