Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

FACTBOX-China's May 12 earthquake
08 May 2009 04:07:06 GMT
Source: Reuters
(For the main story, click [ID:nPEK210190])

May 8 (Reuters) - China next week marks one year since the May 12 earthquake that devastated parts of the country's southwest. Here are some facts about the quake and its aftermath.

* The 8.0-magnitude quake had its epicentre in Wenchuan county, Sichuan province. The quake was caused by tectonic faults rupturing and grinding for hundreds of kilometres along the Longmen Mountains.

* More than 80,000 people died, with thousands still officially listed as missing. The worst devastation was in Wenchuan, where nearly 24,000 died or are counted as missing -- about a fifth of its population -- and Beichuan county, where 20,000 of its 160,000 residents died or are missing.

* This was by far China's deadliest quake since the 1976 disaster in Tangshan, east of Beijing, which killed up to 300,000 people.

* Beijing has said it will channel 1 trillion yuan ($147 billion) to rebuilding quake-hit areas, much of it from bank loans and local coffers. Jiang Jufeng, governor of Sichuan province, has said 1.7 trillion yuan is needed for the task.

* China on Thursday said 5,335 schoolchildren died or remained missing from the earthquake, a much lower number than estimates compiled from news reports at the time and projected by some experts and critics.

* Many parents blame shoddy buildings for the deaths, pointing to apartments and government offices that survived while nearby schools fell.

* One survey by engineers from Tsinghua University in Beijing and two other universities assessed 384 buildings across Sichuan. Of 44 school buildings counted, 57 percent (25) were damaged beyond repair. Of 54 government buildings, 13 percent (7) were in that state of damage, as were 25 percent of shops and housing.

(Sources: Reuters; Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, "Overall Analysis and Assessment of the Wenchuan Earthquake Disaster"; H.K. Miyamoto et. al. "Reconnaissance Report of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake")

(Reporting by Chris Buckley, Editing by Dean Yates)


AlertNet news is provided by

Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Earthquakes

MORE >>

Emergencies

•  China earthquake 2008

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  Schools and houses for Iran
Caritas Internationalis

•  Aceh, Indonesia: "We started from zero"
IFRC - Switzerland

•  ACT Rapid Response Payment: Nangarhar Earthquake, Afghanistan
ACT - Switzerland

•  Supporting Rehab Programs in China
Project HOPE - USA

•  ACT Alert: ACT responds to Nangarhar Province Earthquake, Afghanistan
ACT - Switzerland

MORE >>

Latest news

•  A year on, China quake survivors face uncertain future

•  North Korea says useless to talk to hostile U.S.

•  FACTBOX-Worldwide spread of flu outbreak

•  Asian countries pledge common fight against flu

•  Vietnam accused of crackdowns ahead of UN rights probe

MORE >>
AlertNet news is provided by

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-05-08T031155Z_01_PEK74_RTRIDSP_2_CHINA-QUAKE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/PEK74.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-05-08T030802Z_01_PEK73_RTRIDSP_2_CHINA-QUAKE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/PEK73.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-05-08T030543Z_01_PEK72_RTRIDSP_2_CHINA-QUAKE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/PEK72.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-05-08T030444Z_01_PEK71_RTRIDSP_2_CHINA-QUAKE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/PEK71.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-05-08T030341Z_01_PEK70_RTRIDSP_2_CHINA-QUAKE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/PEK70.htm

Earthquake survivor Wang Jinyou, 37, sits on his motorbike at Qushan village of Beichuan, Sichuan province April 28, 2009. Wang, rescued from the earthquake, fully recovered after staying in the hospital ...



Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Fri May 8 04:08:59 2009