Studio interview: Rescue efforts going on in Yushu

Rescue efforts are going on in Yushu in northwestern Qinghai province. We are joined here by Professor Gu Guohua, from the China Seismological Bureau.

Q1. Can you briefly explain the geological structure of the quake zone? We know Yushu County is in the same seismic belt as Wenchuan, where an 8-magnitude earthquake struck two years ago.

What distinguishes this area? How is the geology affecting rescue efforts?

Q2. Professor Gu, a series of earthquakes have been shaking the world recently. There was the one in Wenchuan in 2008, and January's quake in Haiti, then in Chile, Indonesia and other regions across the globe.

Earthquakes are natural phenomena, but it's still shocking to see so many serious ones in such a short period of time. Geologically, what's the reason? To put it simply, is the earth falling apart?