China (Sichuan Province) Earthquake 2008: News & Statistics

china earthquake impacts sichuan province

A 7.9M earthquake struck Sichuan Province on Monday, May 12, 2008
Aftershocks have been felt from Beijing, China to Bangkok, Thailand
145 confirmed aftershocks above level 4, 23 above level 5, biggest 6.1
Most damaging earthquake since the 1976 Tangshan disaster
View a detailed epicenter map
(June 13, 2008) Casualties continue to escalate; present official number is 68,620; 17,445 missing; 374,142 injured
Almost five million homeless
Public donations rise to 877 million yuan, $125 million US
Quake costs firms $9.5 billion, according to government
70 billion yuan ($10.14 billion) reconstruction fund primarily for infrastructure
6.0M aftershock Sunday, May 25
420,000 homes destroyed in Qingchuan County, Sichuan, following two aftershocks (4.5M and 5.7M) on Tuesday, May 27
160,000 people evacuated from Tangjiashan quake lake
Beichuan - an estimated 80% of buildings in the old town and 60% in the new town have been destroyed
143 aftershocks between May 27 noon and May 28 noon; total of 8,911 aftershocks since May 12 - according to China Seismological Bureau
approximately 30 'quake lakes' created from May 12th earthquake
more than 7,000 collapsed schoolrooms

Sichuan is a province in western China, with its capital Chengdu. Sichuan has been historically known as the "Province of Abundance, " as it is one of the major agricultural production bases of China, providing the major production of grain, including rice and wheat, since 1999. Commercial crops include citrus fruits, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, peaches and grapeseed. Sichuan also had the largest output of pork and the second largest production of silkworm cocoons, of all the provinces. Sichuan is also one of the major industrial bases of China.

In addition to heavy industries such as coal, energy, iron and steel industry, the province has established a light manufacturing sector comprising building materials, wood processing, food and silk processing. Chengdu, the provincial capital, is one of the most important economic centers and transportation and communication hubs in China, as well as one of the production bases for textiles and electronics products.

Chengdu is not only the gateway of Western People's Republic of China for foreign financial institutions, but also a booming town for Chinese domestic financial firms. The Three Gorges Dam is being built on the Yangtze River in nearby Hubei province to control flooding in the Sichuan Basin.

Sichuan Earthquake Statistics

BBC – Mapping the earthquake zone
NY Times – Epicenter Map
USGS – Sichuan Earthquake Summary
USGS – Scientific & Technical
IHT – China quake disaster set off by colliding land masses

News

(May 13, 2010) – Reuters: China quake rebuilding rush shows power and pitfalls
(May 11, 2010) – NY Times: China's Arranged Remarriages
(September 30, 2009) – NYT: In China Quake Analysis, Insight Into Devastation
(May 6, 2009) – National Public Radio: Building Safer Homes Before The Next China Quake
(April 28, 2009) – Xinhuanet: China Builds Stronger Schools in Quake Zone
(November 13, 2008) – Seattle-Post Intelligencer: Rebuilding Continues Six Months After Earthquake
(September 5, 2008) – WSJ.com: China Cites Construction in Deaths
(August 18, 2008) – ASCE: ASCE Team Gets First-Person View of Sichuan Earthquake Aftermath
(August 15, 2008) – BBC: China Quake Work to Cost $150bn
(July 2, 2008) – NYT: Experts Warned of Quake Risk in China
(June 17, 2008) – IHT: A Chinese school, shored up by its principal, survived where others fell
(June 12, 2008) – BBC: Tight security a month from quake
(June 10, 2008) – BBC: China wins quake lake battle
(June 10, 2008) – BBC: China wins quake lake 'victory'
(June 10, 2008) – IHT: Quake lake drains into ruined Chinese town
(June 9, 2008) – BBC: Chinese quake lake still rising
(June 5, 2008) – BBC: China quake lake now 'critical'
(June 4, 2008) – Xinhua: China passes regulation on post-quake restoration and reconstruction
(June 2, 2008) – Xinhua: Power still out in about 50 Sichuan towns three weeks after quake
(June 2, 2008) – Xinhua: Quake losses exceed 40 bln yuan in China's Gansu
(June 1, 2008) – BBC: Setback for China quake rescuers
(May 31, 2008) – BBC: 'Quake lake' evacuation continues
(May 31, 2008) – IHT: China evacuates 197,000 as quake rivers swell
(May 30, 2008) – CNN: China plans mass exodus from quake zone
(May 30, 2008) – IHT: Quake warnings in China went unheeded
(May 30, 2008) – IHT: Stress high for survivors who can't go home because of flood fears
(May 29, 2008) – NYT: River threatens China quake survivors
(May 29, 2008) – IHT: Rain compounds dangers from quake lake in China
(May 29, 2008) – IHT: Quake danger was well-known, Chinese scientists say
(May 28, 2008) – BBC: Mass evacuation from quake lake
(May 28, 2008) – BBC: Quake lakes risk 'slurry tsunami'
(May 28, 2008) – IHT: Parents' grief turns to rage at Chinese officials
(May 28, 2008) – IHT: Workers race to drain threatening 'quake lake' in China
(May 28, 2008) – Xinhua: Amid race to drain Chinese quake lake, emergency plans proceed
(May 28, 2008) – Xinhua: 243 aftershocks monitored in quake zone from Tuesday noon to Wednesday noon
(May 27, 2008) – Xinhua: Swollen lake tops China's quake relief agenda, draining, evacuation side by side
(May 27, 2008) – NYT: Fearing floods, Chinese order evacuations in quake area
(May 27, 2008) – BBC: Troops work to drain quake lake
(May 27, 2008) – BBC: Aftershocks demolish China homes
(May 27, 2008) – IHT: Suspense and dread as Chengdu waits for the next tremor
(May 27, 2008) – IHT: Parents grief turns to fury in China
(May 27, 2008) – Xinhua: More people being evacuated from swollen lake area in southwest China
(May 25, 2008) – IHT: Aftershock in China topples many buildings
(May 23, 2008) – Xinhua: Reconstruction fund mainly used to rebuild infrastructure
(May 23, 2008) – BBC: China earthquake toll jumps again
(May 22, 2008) – BBC: China quake deaths exceed 51,000
(May 21, 2008) – BBC: China warns over quake corruption
(May 21, 2008) – IHT: Rescues in China continue, but focus shifting to millions left homeless
(May 21, 2008) – IHT: Chinese agencies to channel budgets into earthquake relief
(May 21, 2008) – IHT: Call him Grandpa Wen: Chinese official shows a rare soft side
(May 20, 2008) – BBC: Sichuan tourist trail now in ruin
(May 20, 2008) – NYT: Many hands, not held by China, aid in quake
(May 20, 2008) – BBC: Energy firms 'restart near quake'
(May 20, 2008) – BBC: China earthquake toll tops 40,000
(May 20, 2008) – IHT: Aftershock alert spreads panic in Chinese city
(May 19, 2008) – BBC: China quake 'costs firms $9.5bn'
(May 19, 2008) – IHT: Panic in Sichuan after aftershock warning
(May 19, 2008) – BBC: Burma and China: Tale of two disasters
(May 16, 2008) – BBC: 'Five million' homeless in quake
(May 16, 2008) – IHT: Aid pours in, but time runs for China quake survivors
(May 15, 2008) – People's Daily Online: Damaged water projects in China's quake area "need special care"
(May 15, 2008) – BBC: China quake toll 'to top 50,000'
(May 15, 2008) – BBC: Earthquake dams pose floods risk
(May 15, 2008) – NY Times: Chinese Soldiers Rush to Bolster Weakened Dams
(May 14, 2008) – BBC: China anger over 'shoddy schools'
(May 14, 2008) – BBC: China quake survivors rally together
(May 14, 2008) – BBC: China quake toll close to 15,000
(May 14, 2008) – Xinhua: Donations to quake-hit areas hit 603 mln yuan
(May 14, 2008) – IHT: Earthquake death toll rises; China struggles to reach victims
(May 14, 2008) – IHT: Dams reported damaged as soldiers reach quake's center
(May 13, 2008) – BBC: Two disasters, contrasting reactions
(May 13, 2008) – BBC: Chaotic yet organised rescue effort
(May 13, 2008) – BBC: Bad weather hampers rescue effort
(May 13, 2008) – BBC: Search for China quake survivors
(May 13, 2008) – BBC: Shanghai shares fall after quake
(May 13, 2008) – IHT: Death toll from China quake nears 12,000
(May 12, 2008) – BBC: Thousands dead in China quake
(May 12, 2008) – BBC: 'Buried teenagers crying for help'
(May 12, 2008) – IHT: Thousands killed in China by powerful earthquake
(May 12, 2008) – PCWorld: Biq Quake Takes out Mobile Network in Chengdu
(May 12, 2008) – Xinhua: Earthquake measuring 7.8 Richter scale hits SW China, 5 dead
(May 12, 2008) – Xinhua: China quake buries nearly 900 students in Sichuan Province

Reports & Special Features

Probe International – Did the Zipingpu Dam Trigger China's 2008 Earthquake?
UK Institution of Structural Engineers EEFIT Preliminary Field Report Wenchuan, China earthquake
MCEER Major Chinese Earthquakes of the 20th Century
ASCE Engineers and the Technical Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering view wreckage of China quake, return videos, pictures, and survey report
EERI & GEER send earthquake research team to Sichuan, China
Institute of Space and Earth Information Science – Earthquake impact assessment
BBC – China earthquake
Xinhua – Reconstruction after earthquake

China (Sichuan Province) Earthquake 2008: News & Statistics

Contents

Sichuan Earthquake Statistics

News

Reports & Special Features

Images

Videos

Maps

Aid Efforts

Earthquakes Globally

QUAKELINE® Literature Searches