Introduction

The nineteenth deadliest earthquake of all time, the Sichuan earthquake. The quake, which measured 8.0 on the Richter scale occurred at half past two, on May 12, 2008 in Sichuan province of China and by any name killed at least 69,000. This quake happened less than three months before China hosted the world in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The epicenter of this deadly earthquake was at Wenchuan, 31° 1′ 15.6″ N, 103° 22′ 1.2″. The epicenter was 80 kilometers, west-northwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, with a depth of 19 kilometers. The earthquake was also felt in nearby countries and felt as far away as both India and Pakistan.

Official figures state that 69,227 are confirmed dead, including 68,636 in Sichuan province and 374,176 injured, with 18,222 listed still as missing. The earthquake left about 4.8 million people homeless. Approximately 15 million people lived in the affected area. It was the deadliest earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which killed at least 240,000 people.

Click Here for a live news report of the quake

What caused it -- the Tectonics

The Sichuan earthquake occurred as a result of three plates, Himalayan Plate, Northern Chinese Plate and the Southern Chinese Plate. These three plates collided at the same time at the Sichuan Basin. The Sichuan Basin is located at the epicenter of the quake, in other words in Wenchuan.

The Northern Chinese Plate and the Southern Chinese Plate created a destructive margin, considering the size of the plates, the collision already made an earthquake. Scientist has suggested that, the collision of these two plates already made an earthquake of around 6.0 on the Richter scale. Unfortunately, adding to the severity, the Himalayan Plate crashed into the two other plates at almost the exact same time. Therefore the key factor of the severity of this earthquake was the Himalayan Plate.

Click Here for an animation of the Tectonic Plates

Casualties

According to Chinese state officials, the quake caused 69,181 known deaths including 68,636 in Sichuan province; 18,498 people are listed as missing, and 374,171 injured, but these figures may further increase as more reports come in. This estimate includes 158 earthquake relief workers who had been killed in landslides as they tried to repair roads. One rescue team reported only 2,300 survivors from Yingxian, out of a total population of about 9,000. 3,000 to 5,000 people were killed in Beichuan. Sichuan province alone, 10,000 injured and 80% of the buildings were destroyed. Eight schools were toppled in Chengdu.

In terms of school casualties, thousands of school children died due to unstable construction. In Mianyong City, seven schools collapsed, burying at least 1,700 people. At least 7,000 school buildings in Sichuan Province collapsed. Another 700 students were buried in a school in Hanwong. At least 600 students and staff died at Guyuan. Up to 3,300 children and teachers died in total due to the quake.

The earthquake left at least 5 million people without housing, although the number could be as high as 11 million. Millions of livestock and a significant amount of agriculture were also destroyed, including 12.5 million animals, which also included birds. In the Sichuan province a million pigs died out of 60 million in Sichuan province. It values Chengdu, Sichuan Province’s capital city of 4.5 million people, at around US$115 billion, with only a small portion covered by insurance.