2008 Wenchuan earthquake
  Chengdu
|
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| Date | May 12, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Duration | >2 minutes |
| Magnitude | 8.0 Ms/7.9 Mw |
| Depth | 19 kilometres (12 mi) |
| Epicenter | 31°01′16″N 103°22′01″E / 31.021°N 103.367°E (Yingxiu, Wenchuan County, Ngawa Prefecture, Sichuan) |
| Areas affected | China |
| Total damage | Building and infrastructure damage, landslide, formation of landslide dams |
| Max. intensity | XI MM/CSIS |
| Landslides | Yes |
| Aftershocks | over 42,719 total |
| Casualties |
69,195 dead (21st deadliest earthquake of all time) (as of September 22, 2008 18:18 CST) |
69,195 dead (21st deadliest earthquake of all time)
18,392 missing
The 2008 Sichuan earthquake (Chinese: 汶川大地震; pinyin: Wènchuān dà dìzhèn; literally: "Great Wenchuan earthquake"), also known as the Great Sichuan earthquake or Wenchuan earthquake, occurred at 02:28:01 PM 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 was also felt in nearby countries and as far away as both Beijing and Shanghai—1,500 km (930 mi) and 1,700 km (1,060 mi) away—where office buildings swayed with the tremor. Strong aftershocks, some exceeding 6 Ms, continued to hit the area up to several months after the main quake, causing further casualties and damage.
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 earthquake left about 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 240,000 people, and the strongest in the country since the 1950 Chayu earthquake, which registered at 8.5 on the Richter magnitude scale. It is the 21st deadliest earthquake of all time. On November 6, 2008, the central government announced that it would spend 1 trillion RMB (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.
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