The quake, which struck at 7:49 am in Qinghai Province, had a magnitude of 7.1 according to Chinas earthquake administration. According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the earthquake struck in Yushu County, a remote and mountainous area sparsely populated by farmers and herders, most of them ethnic Tibetans. The region is pocked with copper, tin and coal mines and rich in natural gas. A government Web site said the countys population was around 80000. The China Earthquake Networks Center said the epicenter was in Yushu County, a sparsely populated area that is home to farmers and herders, most of whom are ethnic Tibetans. China National Radio said that more than 80 percent of the homes in the area had collapsed but that schools and government buildings had largely remained standing. Karsum Nyima, an employee of a local television station in Yushu, told the national television broadcaster, CCTV, that the quake had sent people running into the streets. All of a sudden, the houses collapsed, he said. It was a terrible earthquake. In the park, a Buddhist pagoda fell down. Everyone is in the street in front of their houses. They are trying to find family members. In the same broadcast, Wu Yong, an officer in the Chinese Army, said that the road to the airport was impassable and that soldiers were digging out people from collapsed homes by hand. The most important thing now is that this place is far from everything, with few accessible rescue troops available, Mr. Wu …