China quake one year on

On this day last year, China's worst earthquake in longer than 30 years struck, killing more than 80,000 people, including thousands of children who were crushed to death when their schools collapsed on them.

More than 374,000 people were hurt and millions left homeless when the 8.0 magnitude quake struck south western Sichuan province. Its epicentre was in the mountainous county of Wenchuan, where nearly 24,000 died or are counted as missing – about a fifth of the population.

Thousands of aftershocks, heavy rainfall and landslides made it harder for military, government and private workers trying to deliver shelter and aid. The earthquake was by far the worst since the devastating 1976 quake in the north eastern city of Tangshan that killed up to 300,000 people. The Sichuan quake struck on May 12, 2008. The aftershocks killed more people and brought down further buildings.

In the worst hit regions – the hilly, rural area of Beichuan and Wenchuan to the south west – buckled and blocked roads made it difficult for rescuers and supplies to get through. China mobilised 130,000 army and paramilitary troops to the area, some of them hiking in on foot. Buildings toppled in at least six counties near the epicentre, according to the Chinese news service, Xinhua.

In the year since it struck, anger has focused on the poor state of school buildings, with many blaming lax building controls and corruption for shoddy construction. China says 5,335 schoolchildren were killed while other estimates have put the figure at between 7,000 and 9,000, according to Reuters news agency. Grieving parents have likened the school buildings to soft "tofu dregs". They accuse officials or builders of cutting corners and pocketing money meant for building stronger classrooms.

The government ordered a nationwide safety inspection of all public buildings after the disaster. It also launched an inquiry into why so many schools crumbled. This concluded they collapsed because of the size of the quake rather than construction flaws.

Beijing fears that the anger of bereaved parents could trigger unrest, especially around the one-year anniversary. It clamped down on media coverage in the aftermath of the quake and has arrested activists trying to seek justice. Parents demanding inquiries have been detained in "black jails" -– informal detention rooms in hotels and offices, according to the rights group, Amnesty International.

Chinese lawyers and human rights activists who have offered help to grieving families have also been intimidated and detained, and their efforts to bring cases to court have been stymied, Amnesty says in a report.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children