Seismic activities concentrated on its mid-fracture (known as Yingxiu-Beichuan fracture). 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.Īccording to a study by the China Earthquake Administration (CEA), the earthquake occurred along the Longmenshan Fault, a thrust structure along the border of the Indo-Australian Plate and Eurasian Plate. It is the 18th deadliest earthquake of all time. It was the deadliest earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which killed at least 242,000 people, and the strongest in the country since the 1950 Assam–Tibet earthquake, which registered at 8.6 on the Moment magnitude scale. Approximately 15 million people lived in the affected area. The earthquake left at least 4.8 million people homeless, though the number could be as high as 11 million. The geohazards triggered by the earthquake are thought to be responsible for at least one third of the death toll. 374,176 were reported injured, with 18,222 listed as missing as of July 2008.

Over 69,000 people lost their lives in the quake, including 68,636 in Sichuan province.

The earthquake also caused the largest number of geohazards ever recorded, including about 200,000 landslides and more than 800 quake lakes distributed over an area of 110,000 km 2 (42,000 sq mi). Strong aftershocks, some exceeding 6 M s, continued to hit the area up to several months after the main shock, causing further casualties and damage. The earthquake was also felt as far away as both Beijing and Shanghai-1,500 and 1,700 km (930 and 1,060 mi) away, respectively-where office buildings swayed with the tremor, as well as Bangkok, Thailand and Hanoi, Vietnam. The earthquake ruptured the fault for over 240 km (150 mi), with surface displacements of several meters. Measuring at 8.0 M s (7.9 M w), 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). 'Great Wenchuan earthquake'), also known as the Great Sichuan earthquake or Wenchuan earthquake, occurred at 14:28:01 China Standard Time on May 12, 2008. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake ( Chinese: 汶川大地震 pinyin: Wènchuān dà dìzhèn lit. A USGS map shows that dozens of aftershocks occurred in a small region following the quake.

Szechuan mountain house