Huge Earthquake in China

01101001 · #1 (**permalink**) 12-May-2008, 01:17 PM

There was a huge earthquake in south China, Sichuan province, 6 hours ago.

US Geological Survey:

Quote:

Magnitude 7.8
Date-Time Monday, May 12, 2008 at 06:28:00 UTC
Monday, May 12, 2008 at 02:28:00 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 31.104°N, 103.270°E
Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
Distances 90 km (55 miles) WNW of Chengdu, Sichuan, China
150 km (90 miles) WSW of Mianyang, Sichuan, China
360 km (225 miles) WNW of Chongqing, Chongqing, China
1545 km (960 miles) SW of BEIJING, Beijing, China

Felt in Beijing, 1000 miles away.

New York Times: 900 Trapped After Quake, China State Media Reports:

Quote:

A powerful earthquake struck a mountainous region of western China on Monday, killing at least 107 people and trapping more than 900 students beneath a collapsed high school as tremors shook buildings for hundreds of miles, according to interviews and reports in China’s state media.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in Sichuan Province on Monday afternoon and raised immediate concerns that the death toll could rapidly rise. State media reports said “rows of houses” had collapsed near the quake’s epicenter. By early evening, state media had reported 107 deaths and 34 injuries in four provinces.
[...]
Early reports and telephone interviews suggested that Chengdu had been spared any significant problems, but officials were struggling to assess the full scope of the damage in Wenchuan and elsewhere because of the disruption in communications caused by the earthquake.

With a quake that size, news is bound to get worse.

Google Map: Epicenter

Chengdu, Sichuan, China [Population 11 million]
Mianyang, Sichuan, China [Population 5.2 million]
Chongqing, Chongqing, China [Population 31 million]

Mister Earl · #2 (**permalink**) 12-May-2008, 02:31 PM

Agreed. China doesn't put much emphasis on safety. I'm sure that's going to cause problems here. I feel pretty bad about the people living there, ekeing out a life in the western steppes of China. Many children out there have never seen a school, and now one of the rare ones out there got flattened.

01101001 · #3 (**permalink**) 12-May-2008, 04:09 PM

5000 dead.

The Australian: Huge China quake kills up to 5000

Quote:

The death toll was expected to rise sharply as authorities and rescue teams made contact with the worst-hit areas of Sichuan, where phone lines have been cut off since the quake struck.

It is now night in the affected area, hampering rescue efforts.

The quake had toppled at least eight schools and left hundreds of students and teachers trapped, state media said.

Now 7600. AP:

Quote:

A massive earthquake struck central China on Monday, killing more than 7,600 people and trapping nearly 900 students under the rubble of their school, state media reported. The official Xinhua News Agency said 80 percent of the buildings had collapsed in Beichuan county in Sichuan province after the 7.8-magnitude quake, raising fears the overall death toll could increase sharply.

I haven't noticed this feature before at the USGS site: PAGER (Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response):

Mercali X Population exposed: 117k Shaking: Extreme
Mercali IX Population exposed: 92k Shaking: Violent
Mercali VIII Population exposed: 866k Shaking: Severe
Mercali VII Population exposed: 4,781k Shaking: Very Strong
Mercali VI Population exposed: 13,538k Shaking: Strong
Mercali V Population exposed: 43,966k Shaking: Moderate

KaiYeves · #4 (**permalink**) 12-May-2008, 07:57 PM

Golly...

01101001 · #5 (**permalink**) 13-May-2008, 03:18 AM

AFP: Nearly 10,000 dead in China quake, fears for many more

Quote:

The death toll from China's worst earthquake in over three decades climbed to nearly 10,000 on Tuesday with many thousands more trapped under crushed houses, schools and factories.

Rescuers were still struggling to reach towns and villages devastated by Monday's huge 7.8 magnitude quake in southwestern Sichuan province, which is still being pummeled by wave after wave of terrifying aftershocks.
[...]
China's state-run Xinhua news agency said nearly 10,000 had been killed, but the agency released a steady flow of grim news from towns across the quake zone which indicated the toll was expected to rise dramatically.

Jens · #6 (**permalink**) 13-May-2008, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister Earl

Agreed. China doesn't put much emphasis on safety. I'm sure that's going to cause problems here. I feel pretty bad about the people living there, ekeing out a life in the western steppes of China. Many children out there have never seen a school, and now one of the rare ones out there got flattened.

I'm not disputing this, but wondering. Is Sichuan really in the "western steppes"? It's a quite highly populated area, and though yes, it is sort of on the edge, I think it's within the Yangtse river basin.

I definitely agree there is more the government could do. I think building codes in China are somewhat weak compared to those in more advanced countries. Although even in Japan, with quite strict codes, the 1995 quake in Kobe (not as strong as the one in Sichuan) killed almost 5,000 people. Part of it was because of the crowding, I think. Once some buildings collapsed, they blocked roads and emergency vehicles couldn't get in. I think the same thing is happening now.

yaohua2000 · #7 (**permalink**) 13-May-2008, 12:30 PM

I was on the 7th floor in a building in Beijing, 1538 km northeast to the epicenter. It felt like someone swaying my chair, lasted about half a minute.

ToSeek · #8 (**permalink**) 13-May-2008, 07:17 PM

China earthquake detected in Christiansburg

Quote:

The magnitude 7.9 earthquake that rocked much of China today, killing thousands, also sent tremors through the earth that caused water levels in a USGS monitoring well in Christiansburg, Va. to slosh more than a foot.

Here's the trace on the water level. (The smaller, wave-like variations before and after the big spike are caused by tidal forces in the ground - the action of lunar gravity on the Earth's crust as the planet spins.)

Tobin Dax · #9 (**permalink**) 14-May-2008, 02:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToSeek

China earthquake detected in Christiansburg

That's just cool. I know it comes out of a tragedy, but I can't help that reaction.

Yaohua, thanks for sharing. I was wondering how much this was felt around Beijing.

01101001 · #10 (**permalink**) 16-May-2008, 04:18 AM

Sadly, the bad news keeps rolling in.

International Herald Tribune: China: Quake death toll could reach 50,000

Quote:

While China's massive military-led recovery operation inched farther into regions cut off since Monday's quake in a wide area of Sichuan province, priorities began shifting from from the hunt for survivors to dealing with the dead, whose numbers the governemnt said could more than double to 50,000.
[...]
The emergency headquarters of the State Council, China's Cabinet, said the confirmed death toll had reached 19,509 — up more than 4,500 from the day before. The council said deaths could rise to 50,000, state media reported.

The provincial government said more than 12,300 remained buried and another 102,100 were injured in Sichuan, where the quake was centered.

Experts said hope was quickly fading for anyone still caught in the wreckage of homes, schools, offices and factories that collapsed in the magnitude-7.9 quake, the most powerful in three decades in quake-prone China.

TheHalcyonYear · #11 (**permalink**) 16-May-2008, 04:24 AM

They have a long history of quakes of this size, they are right on the collision of the Indian and Eurasian place. This is as least the second or third event of this magnitude to strike in that region this century alone. They should be building for this sort of event.

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