Southern Qinghai, China Earthquake 2010: Facts, News, Engineering, & Images

Earthquake strikes Qinghai, China

A series of strong earthquakes killed hundreds of people in western China on Tuesday, April 13, 2010, badly damaging at least two schools, shattering homes and spreading fire through a remote town high on the Tibetan plateau. The early morning quakes hit China's Qinghai Province, an impoverished region 1,200 miles southwest of Beijing that is inhabited mainly by ethnic Tibetans.¹ The powerful tremor struck remote Yushu county, 500 miles (800 km) south-west of the provincial capital Xining, at 0749 (2349 GMT), at a shallow depth of 10 km. Most of the buildings in the town of Jiegu were destroyed and landslides have cut off roads²

The earthquake comes almost two years after the devastating Sichuan Province quake killed at least 87,000 people, which is adjacent to Qinghai. The epicenters of the two quakes were separated by about 630 miles and were both related to the northward thrust of the Indian Plate against the Eurasian Plate.³

Contents

Earthquake Facts

Death toll stands at 2,200 CNN
Rescuers save 17,000 from the quake Telegraph
Toll rose to more than 1,700 BBC
Death toll 'passes 1,000' BBC
More than 15,000 homes - many of traditional wood and earth construction - destroyed; more than 100,000 people in need of relocation Wall Street Journal
790 confirmed dead; 300 missing Wall Street Journal
85% of houses destroyed in Gyêgu (Yushu province) Britain's Channel 4
Death toll rises to 617; 313 missing; 9,110 injured Xinhua News
598 dead; death toll to rise BBC
400 killed; 10,000 injured Telegraph
6.9 M earthquake strikes USGS report

Structural Engineering News

(posted 4-16-10) – Journal of Commerce: B.C. engineering team travels to Chile to assess eathquake damage
(posted 4-15-10) – Australian: Deadly earthquake highlights China's shoddy construction standards

Special Reports & Blogs

Latest News, Photos & Videos

(posted 5-5-10) – China Daily: Reconstruction starts in quake-hit Yushu
(posted 4-28-10) – China Daily: China heals new wound with experience from Sichuan quake
(posted 4-21-10) – Telegraph: Rescuers save 17,000 from China quake
(posted 4-21-10) – BBC: China holds national day of mourning for quake dead
(posted 4-19-10) – BBC: China quake survivors found as death toll nears 2,000
(posted 4-19-10) – BBC: China president visits quake zone
(posted 4-19-10) – BBC: Fears for the future in quake-hit Yushu
(posted 4-19-10) – BBC: China quake bodies burnt on pyres in Jiegu
(posted 4-16-10) – BBC: China quake death toll 'passes 1,000'
(posted 4-16-10) – NY Times: Seeking Survivors as China's Quake Victims Pile Up
(posted 4-16-10) – Wall Street Journal: Eleven Schools Collapsed in Quake
(posted 4-16-10) – Telegraph: China earthquake: death toll could reach 10,000
(posted 4-16-10) – LA Times: China eager to show it's doing its best to aid Tibet quake victims
(posted 4-16-10) – Wall Street Journal: China's Wen Visits Quake Site
(posted 4-15-10) – BBC: Qinghai quake: 'No time to react'
(posted 4-15-10) – BBC: Chinese rescuers step up search for quake survivors
(posted 4-15-10) – CS Monitor: Rescuers battle roadblocks, high altitude to reach survivors in China earthquake
(posted 4-15-10) – LA Times: A frantic search for quake survivors in remote China
(posted 4-15-10) – NY Times: Cold May Worsen Toll in China Quake
(posted 4-15-10) – NY Times: Death Toll in China Quake Rises to 617
(posted 4-15-10) – Wall Street Journal: China Searches for Quake Survivors
(posted 4-15-10) – BBC: In pictures: Western China quake
(posted 4-15-10) – CS Monitor: In Qinghai Province in China, earthquake kills hundreds and levels buildings
(posted 4-15-10) – National Geographic: China Earthquake Today: The Aftermath in Pictures
(posted 4-14-10) – BBC: China earthquake kills hundreds in Qinghai
(posted 4-14-10) – Xinhua: Quake survivors, rescuers struggling amid chilly night
(posted 4-14-10) – Xinhua: China initiates first class emergency response for quake relief in Qinghai
(posted 4-14-10) – BBC: 'No link' between Chinese quakesAid
(posted 4-14-10) – BBC: China earthquake kills hundreds in Qinghai province
(posted 4-14-10) – Global Times: 400 killed,10,000 injured in NW China earthquake
(posted 4-14-10) – BBC: Hundreds die in west China quake
(posted 4-14-10) – BBC: In pictures: Western China quake
(posted 4-14-10) – LA Times: 7.1 quake in China kills 400
(posted 4-14-10) – NPR: Earthquake In China Kills 400; Thousands Injured
(posted 4-14-10) – ABC News: Quake In Western China Kills 400
(posted 4-14-10) – Economist: Earthquakes in China's Qinghai province kill hundreds of people
(posted 4-14-10) – Telegraph: China earthquake kills hundreds in Qinghai
(posted 4-14-10) – Wall Street Journal: Rescuers Rush to Aid Survivors of China Quake
(posted 4-14-10) – Wall Street Journal: Quake hits western China
(posted 4-14-10) – China Daily: 7.1-magnitude quake hits Qinghai
(posted 4-14-10) – CNN: Hundreds feared dead in Chinese earthquake

Maps, Remote Sensing & GIS

BBC: Qinghai earthquake

Aid & Disaster/Emergency Management

Doctors Without Borders: China: MSF Heading to Qinghai Province To Assess Earthquake Damage
Red Cross: RCSC makes emergency response to 7.1-magnitude quake in Qinghai
BBC: UK aid effort starts after western China earthquake

QUAKELINE® Literature Searches

Background Information

MCEER: Major Chinese Earthquakes of the 20th Century
MCEER: China (Sichuan Province) Earthquake 2008
World Factbook: China
World Health Organization: China
BBC: Qinghai province
BBC: Country Profile: China