Matthew Mortimer

Sichuan Earthquake

The 2008 Sichuan earthquake, measured at a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter scale. The earthquake occurred at 02:28:01 PM China Standard Time on May 12th in Sichuan province. The death toll stood at 69,197 and also left 18,222 missing.

The earthquake occurred due to pressure resulting from the Indian plate colliding with the Eurasian. The tremor was sent along the Longmenshan fault line that runs through Sichuan. The earthquake lasted 2 minutes. Despite the area being more rural it still has a dense population of 43million people.

Initial death tolls ran at 8,700 but this eventually rose to 69,000 with 18,000 people missing two months after the quake. 374,000 people were injured and between 5 million and 11 million people were made homeless. A total of 5 million buildings collapsed; including a number of schools. Juyuan middle school in Dujiangyan city collapsed killing 900 pupils. Communications were brought to a halt and the cost of restoring infrastructure was estimated at $75 million. Many areas were left completely cut off by landslides and building collapses left streets littered with rubble. In Shifang, chemical plants were destroyed, killing hundreds of workers and releasing toxic ammonia into the environment. Power and water supplies were cut and extensive flooding occurred due to the landslides blocking rivers.

The emergency relief and rescue operations were often slow. Some areas in Wenchuan were not reached for over 30 hours. 20 helicopters were assigned to rescue and relief and troops were parachuted in to assess the situation. The army coordinated most of the relief effort. China requested international help 2 days after the quake. Teams from Japan, Russia and South Korea joined the rescue effort. Efforts were made to free people trapped in the rubble, and land was flattened so that tents could be erected to house the injured and homeless. Over £100 million was donated to the Red Cross in the fortnight following the quake. Much of this funding went into running these camps. The Chinese government pledged a $10million rebuilding fund and banks wrote off the debts of survivors who did not have insurance on their properties.