Earthquake China
2008 Sichuan (Wenchuan) Earthquake
M7.9 earthquake; massive landslides and school collapses.
Background from Wikipedia
An earthquake occurred in the province of Sichuan, China at 14:28:01 China Standard Time on May 12, 2008. Measuring at 8.0 Ms, the earthquake's epicenter was located 80 kilometres (50 mi) west-northwest of Chengdu, the provincial capital, with a focal depth of 19 km (12 mi). The earthquake ruptured the fault for over 240 km (150 mi), with surface displacements of several meters. The earthquake was also felt as far away as Beijing and Shanghai—1,500 and 1,700 km away, respectively—where office buildings swayed with the tremor, as well as Bangkok and Hanoi. Strong aftershocks, some exceeding 6 Ms, continued to hit the area up to several months after the main shock, causing further casualties and damage. The earthquake also caused the largest number of geohazards ever recorded, including about 200,000 landslides and more than 800 quake lakes distributed over an area of 110,000 km2 (42,000 sq mi).
From the Wikipedia article “2008 Sichuan earthquake”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikipedia's figures may differ from the sources cited on this page.
Sources & references
Impact figures
| Fatalities | 87,587 |
|---|---|
| Economic damage | $150,000,000,000 (nominal) |
| People affected | 46,000,000 |
| Region | Sichuan Province |
Figures per cited sources; estimates for older events vary.
Loading live data… · Marker positions are approximate; severity is labelled in each popup. Sources: USGS, GDACS, NASA EONET, NOAA/NWS, EMSC.