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2008 Sichuan earthquake

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2008 Sichuan earthquake
UTC time??
Magnitude7.9 Mw
Depth10 kilometres (6 mi)
Epicenter31°05′02″N 103°16′01″E / 31.084°N 103.267°E / 31.084; 103.267
Areas affected China
 Taiwan
 Bangladesh
 Pakistan
 Thailand
 Vietnam
 Nepal
 Mongolia
Casualties9000+ dead

Template:Fixhtml The 2008 Sichuan earthquake took place in Wenchuan County, Sichuan province of the People's Republic of China at 14:28:04 local time (06:28:04 GMT) on 12 May 2008.[1] It had a magnitude of 7.9 Mw according to the State Seismological Bureau of China and United States Geological Survey.[2] The earthquake was felt as far away as Beijing and Shanghai, where office buildings swayed with the impact,[3] Pakistan,[4] Thailand,[4] Burma, and Vietnam capital Hanoi.[5] The closest major city to the earthquake's epicenter is Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.

Earthquake details

Map of epicenter

The epicentre was at 31°05′02″N 103°16′01″E / 31.084°N 103.267°E / 31.084; 103.267, in Wenchuan County, Ngawa Prefecture, 90 km northwest of Chengdu, with its main tremor so far occurring at 14:28:04 local time (06:28:04 am GMT) on Monday 12 May 2008. Early reports of the earthquake's magnitude ranged from 7.6 to 8.0. More than 16 major aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 4.0 to 6.0 were recorded within nine hours of the main tremor.[6]

Office workers in Chengdu reported a "continuous shaking for about two or three minutes", with many people rushing outside. [7]

Tectonic summary

According to the USGS[8], "the earthquake occurred as the result of motion on a northeast striking reverse fault or thrust fault on the northwestern margin of the Sichuan Basin. The earthquake’s epicenter and focal-mechanism are consistent with it having occurred as the result of movement on the Longmenshan fault or a tectonically related fault. The earthquake reflects tectonic stresses resulting from the convergence of crustal material slowly moving from the high Tibetan Plateau, to the west, against strong crust underlying the Sichuan Basin and southeastern China."

"On a continental scale, the seismicity of central and eastern Asia is a result of northward convergence of the Indian Plate against the Eurasian Plate with a velocity of about 50 mm/y. The convergence of the two plates is broadly accommodated by the uplift of the Asian highlands and by the motion of crustal material to the east away from the uplifted Tibetan Plateau."

"The northwestern margin of the Sichuan Basin has previously experienced destructive earthquakes. The magnitude 7.5 earthquake of August 25, 1933, killed more than 9,300 people."

Immediate aftermath

USGS shake map

Office buildings in Shanghai's financial district, including the Jin Mao Building and the Hong Kong New World Tower, were evacuated.[9] Phone calls to emergency response numbers in Chengdu were repeatedly busy.[10] A receptionist at the Tibet Hotel in Chengdu said the hotel had evacuated its guests, but said things were "calm" there now.[11] Workers at a Ford plant in Sichuan were evacuated for about 10 minutes.[12] Reporters in Chengdu said they saw cracks on walls of some residential buildings in the downtown areas, but no building collapsed.[13] The Chengdu airport was shut down, and one Singapore Airlines flight was diverted and landed in nearby Kunming.[14] Many Beijing office towers were evacuated, including the building housing the media offices for the organizers of the 2008 Summer Olympics. None of the Olympic venues were damaged.[4]

China's President Hu Jintao has said that the disaster response would be rapid. One hour after the earthquake, Premier Wen Jiabao flew to the earthquake area to direct the rescue work.[15][16]

Damage

All highways into Wenchuan are damaged, resulting in delayed arrival of the rescue troops.[17][18] Over 2300 base stations of China Mobile went offline, while the China Unicom network in that area broke down entirely.[19][20] In Beichuan county, 80% of the buildings collapsed according to Xinhua.[21] In the city of Shifang, the collapse of two chemical plants led to leakage of some 80 tons of liquid ammonia, with hundreds of people reported buried. [22] In the city of Dujiangyan, south-east of the epicentre, a whole school collapsed with 900 students buried and 50 dead. The Juyuan middle school, where many teenagers were buried, is being excavated by civilians and cranes.[23]

Casualties

According to a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey, an earthquake of this magnitude is "very dangerous" and can cause major damage. The quake caused at least 8,500 deaths in Sichuan province according to a report at 16:10 GMT on 12 May 2008[24], but this figure may increase as more reports come in. In Chongqing, 5 students were reported killed, 20 more buried and more than 100 injured when one primary school collapsed. [25] Ngawa Tibetan and_Qiang Autonomous Prefecture government announced 39 people dead and 5 missing. [26] In the city of Mianyang, one person was killed by a falling water tower.[27] Xinhua reported that more than 50 students were confirmed killed and more still buried when the Juyuan highschool building collapsed in Dujiangyan, the city nearest to the epicenter.[28][29] In the neighboring provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Chongqing, the death tolls were 57, 26 and 50 respectively.[30] Reuters cited an incomplete statistic of about 9,000 deaths in Sichuan from Sichuan Seismological Bureau as of May 12, 22:20 Beijing Time.[31]

References

  1. ^ Strong earthquake hits southwest China
  2. ^ "Magnitude 7.9 - EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA". USGS. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ Powerful earthquake shakes China
  4. ^ a b c Death toll in China earthquake rises to 7,600
  5. ^ "Massive Quake Rocks China". CBSNews. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ United States Geological Survey
  7. ^ "Strong earthquake hits western China". MSNBC. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/eqinthenews/2008/us2008ryan/#summary
  9. ^ Chaney, Joseph (2008-05-12). "China's tallest bldg evacuated after earthquake". Forbes. Retrieved 2008-05-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ "Earthquake strikes western China". Forbes. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ "Strong China quake felt as far as Thailand". Reuters. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ "Ford's Sichuan plant briefly evacuated after quake". Reuters. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ "Powerful earthquake hits Sichuan". China Daily. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ Loo, Daryl (2008-05-12). "Singapore's SilkAir flight to Chengdu diverted". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-05-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ "President Hu orders utmost effort for Sichuan quake victims". Xinhua. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
  16. ^ "Premier Wen appeals for "calm, confidence, efficiency" after quake". Xinhua. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
  17. ^ [1]
  18. ^ [2]
  19. ^ [3]
  20. ^ [4]
  21. ^ Death toll in China earthquake up to near 9,000
  22. ^ [http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-05/12/content_8154769.htm 四川什邡市多处建筑震中坍塌 数百人被埋}
  23. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7396400.stm
  24. ^ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7396400.stm
  25. ^ 重庆梁平小学死亡人数增至5人 掩埋20多人(chinese)
  26. ^ 汶川县7.8级地震已造成阿坝州39人死亡
  27. ^ "5 dead as China quake crushes schools". CNN. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  28. ^ 四川都江堰聚源镇中学楼房垮塌 死亡人数增至50余人
  29. ^ 都江堰聚源中学垮塌 众多学生被埋(组图)(in chinese)
  30. ^ 快讯：目前四川伤亡数千人 陕甘渝滇分别死亡57、26、50和1人
  31. ^ "China quake kills nearly 9,000, toll likely to soar". Reuters. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-13. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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