Watch 2008 Sichuan Earthquake Video

The 2008 Sichuan earthquake or the Great Sichuan Earthquake was a deadly earthquake that measured at 8.0 Ms and 7.9 Mw, and occurred at 02:28:01 PM China Standard Time at epicenter on Monday, May 12, 2008 in Sichuan province, killing 69,195 people, with 18,392 missing. It is also known as the Wenchuan earthquake, after the location of the earthquake's epicenter, Wenchuan County, Sichuan. The...  MORE

The 2008 Sichuan earthquake or the Great Sichuan Earthquake was a deadly earthquake that measured at 8.0 Ms and 7.9 Mw, and occurred at 02:28:01 PM China Standard Time at epicenter on Monday, May 12, 2008 in Sichuan province, killing 69,195 people, with 18,392 missing. It is also known as the Wenchuan earthquake, after the location of the earthquake's epicenter, Wenchuan County, Sichuan. The epicenter was 80 kilometres west-northwest of Chengdu, the provincial capital, with a focal depth of 19 km. The earthquake was also felt in nearby countries and as far away as both Beijing and Shanghai—1,500 km and 1,700 km away—where office buildings swayed with the tremor. Strong aftershocks, some exceeding magnitude 6, continued to hit the area even months after the main quake, causing new casualties and damage. Official figures stated that 69,197 were confirmed dead, including 68,636 in Sichuan province, and 374,176 injured, with 18,222 listed as missing. The earthquake left about 4.8 million people homeless, though the number could be as high as 11 million. 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, and the strongest in the country since the 1950 Chayu earthquake, which registered at 8.5 on the Richter magnitude scale. It is the 21st deadliest earthquake of all time. On November 6, 2008, the central government announced that it would spend 1 trillion yuan over the next three years to rebuild areas ravaged by the earthquake, as part of the Chinese economic stimulus program. LESS