2008 Sichuan earthquake
A collapsed building in Wenchuan County | |
Location of epicenter in Sichuan province | |
| UTC time | 2008-05-12 06:28:01 |
|---|---|
| ISC event | 13228121 |
| USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
| Local date | May 12, 2008 |
| Local time | 14:28:01 CST |
| Duration | >2 minutes |
| Magnitude | 7.9–8.3 Mw 8.0 Ms |
| Depth | 19 km (12 mi) |
| Epicenter | 31°01′16″N 103°22′01″E / 31.021°N 103.367°E |
| Fault | Yingxiu-Beichuan fault |
| Type | Thrust fault |
| Areas affected | Sichuan |
| Total damage | US$130 billion (equivalent to $189.9 billion in 2024) |
| Max. intensity | CSIS XI MMI XI (Extreme) |
| Aftershocks | 149 to 284 major, over 42,719 total |
| Casualties | 87,587 dead, 374,643 injured, 18,392 missing |
| Citations | |
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 (7.9–8.3 Mw), 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 (930 and 1,060 mi) away, respectively—where office buildings swayed with the tremor, as well as Bangkok, Thailand and Hanoi, Vietnam. 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).
Over 69,000 people lost their lives in the quake, including 68,636 in Sichuan province. 374,176 were reported injured, with 18,222 listed as missing as of July 2008. The geohazards triggered by the earthquake are thought to be responsible for at least one third of the death toll. The earthquake left at least 4.8 million people homeless, though the number could be as high as 11 million. Approximately 15 million people lived in the affected area. It was the deadliest earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which killed at least 242,000 people, and the strongest in the country since the 1950 Assam–Tibet earthquake, which registered at 8.6 Mw. It was the 4th deadliest natural disaster of the decade. It is the 18th deadliest earthquake of all time. The economic loss of the earthquake was 845.1 billion yuan (US$130 billion). On November 6, 2008, the central government announced that it would spend 1 trillion yuan (about US$146.5 billion) over the next three years to rebuild areas ravaged by the earthquake, as part of the Chinese economic stimulus program.