KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: CNN is celebrating 20 years of bringing news to the world. And today we look back at the big story of January 10, 1998.</s>REBECCA MACKINNON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Zhangbei earthquake was the worst earthquake in northern China since 1976.</s>JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: An earthquake in northern China has caused more damage than originally thought. According to China's news agency, more than 11,000 people were injured, 50 people died.</s>MACKINNON: Many families had lost a great deal, they were shocked, they had not been prepared.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When the earthquake started, I heard this shaking noise, I said to myself: Here comes an earthquake. I immediately went to open the door, but it was already jammed. I couldn't open it.</s>MACKINNON: We just returned from the area near the earthquake's epicenter, which is about 150 miles northwest of Beijing.</s>MACKINNON: The police would not let any international journalists anywhere close to where the worst of the damage was, and told us we had to leave immediately. We managed to enter some areas, the villagers were standing outside, they were afraid to go back indoors in case there were more aftershocks.</s>MACKINNON: "We were too afraid to sleep last night," says this woman. "Last night we didn't dare go back into our houses, and so we didn't sleep at all." Tens of thousands of families are spending the night outside in sub-zero temperatures after their homes were destroyed. With 80-90 percent of the buildings already flattened in some areas, anything but temporary relief for now looks bleak.
CNN 20: China Earthquake, January 10, 1998