Felt as far away as Vietnam, Thailand, and Taiwan, the massive temblor struck Sichuan province at 2:28 p.m. -- that's just east of Tibet, a region that has already seen misery lately as ethnic Tibetans joining in anti-government protests came under the People Republic's crackdown. One of the casualties was a school that collapsed, trapping about 900 students under rubble, reports the Associated Press:

"The official Xinhua News Agency said 8,533 people died in Sichuan alone and dozens of other deaths were reported in surrounding areas.

Xinhua said 80 percent of the buildings had collapsed in Sichuan province's Beichuan county after the quake, raising fears the overall death toll could increase sharply.

State media said a chemical plant in Shifang city had cratered, burying hundreds of people and spilling more than 80 tons of toxic liquid ammonia from the site."

The New York Times has a photo gallery of the damage.

As always when the earth lets loose, check out the U.S. Geological Survery quake tracking site. They're showing a magnitude of 7.9, slightly higher than press reports, but in the initial hours after a quake either the press or USGS numbers might be revised due to further study of the event.

UPDATE: The death toll is now being reported at around 10,000, and is expected to climb.

(Map: USGS)