Sichuan earthquake ( Chinese 四川 大 地震 ) - a devastating earthquake that occurred on May 12, 2008 at 14: 28: 01.42 Beijing time (06: 28: 01.42 UTC ) in the Chinese province of Sichuan . The magnitude of the earthquake was 8 M w according to the China Seismological Bureau and 7.9 M w (according to Richter) according to the US Geological Survey. The epicenter is fixed 75 km from the capital of Sichuan, Chengdu , the hypocenter is at a depth of 19 km [6] . This earthquake is also known as Wenchuan ( Chinese 汶川 大 地震 ), because the epicenter of the earthquake falls on Wenchuan County . An earthquake was felt in Beijing (1,500 km away) and Shanghai (1,700 km), where office buildings shook and evacuation began [7] . It was felt in neighboring countries: India , Pakistan , Thailand , Vietnam , Bangladesh , Nepal , Mongolia and Russia .
| Sichuan earthquake | |
|---|---|
| date and time | May 12, 2008 |
| Magnitude | 7.9-8.0 M w |
| Depth hypocenter | 19 km |
| Location epicenter | |
| Affected countries (regions) |  PRC |
| Injured | 87,587 dead [1] [2] ( 21st deadliest earthquake of all time ) (as of September 22, 2008 18:18 CST ) [5] |
Official sources say that on August 4, 2008, 69 197 people died [8] , about 18 thousand people went missing, 288 431 were injured [5] .
The earthquake occurred in the seismically active Longmanshan Fault, which runs along the western edge of the Sichuan Basin , separating it from the Sino-Tibetan mountains .
Artist Ai Weiwei received a prison sentence for publishing information about the deceased that wasn’t included in official statistics, as well as for investigating corruption in local authorities that led to the construction of earthquake-prone buildings.
The 2008 Olympic Torch Relay was suspended in memory of people killed in the disaster, and schoolboy Lin Hao, who saved his two comrades from the ruins after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, received the right to take out the flag of China at the opening ceremony of the home Olympic Games along with a legend Chinese Basketball Yao Ming .
See also
- List of the largest earthquakes
- The most devastating earthquakes in human history
- Great Chinese earthquake
- Sichuan earthquake in 2013
Notes
- ↑ Armand Vervaeck and Dr. James Daniell. The May 12, 2008 deadly Sichuan Earthquake - A recap - 3 years later . SOS Earthquakes (October 5, 2013). Date of treatment March 5, 2017.
- ↑ Paula Dunbar. Significant Earthquake . Ngdc.noaa.gov. Date of treatment February 13, 2014.
- ↑ Magnitude 7.9 - EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA . Earthquake.usgs.gov. Date of treatment November 7, 2012. Archived January 9, 2010.
- ↑ Jacobs, Andrew . China Reports Student Toll for Quake (May 7, 2009). Archived on May 6, 2013. Released May 14, 2009. "" Large earthquakes are common in fold and thrust belts; a recent example is the great Wench-uan earthquake that hit Sichuan, China, on May 12, 2008, killing more than 80,000 people. "".
- ↑ 1 2 Casualties of the Wenchuan Earthquake , Sina.com (May 22, 2008). Date of treatment May 22, 2008. (Chinese)
- ↑ Magnitude 7.9 - Eastern Sichuan, China , United States Geological Survey (May 22, 2008). Archived on September 11, 2008. Date of treatment May 22, 2008. (English)
- ↑ 'Hundreds buried' by China quake , BBC (May 22, 2008). Date of treatment May 20, 2008. (English)
- ↑ http://www.cctv.com