May 12, 2008

The 2008 Sichuan earthquake at a magnitude 7.9 occurred on May 12th 2008 in Sichuan Province of China. The epicenter was 90 kilometers west-northwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, with a depth of 19 kilometers. The earthquake was felt as far away as Beijing (1,500 km away) and Shanghai (1,700 km away) where office buildings swayed with the tremor.

The earthquake occurred as the result of motion on a northeast striking reverse fault or thrust fault on the northwestern margin of the Sichuan Basin. The earthquake's epicenter and focal-mechanism are consistent with it having occurred as the result of movement on the Longmenshan fault or a tectonically related fault. The earthquake reflects tectonic stresses resulting from the convergence of crystal material slowly moving from the high Tibetan Plateau to the west against strong crust underlying the Sichuan Basin and southeastern China.

The isolated mountainous locations of hard-hit quake areas made access to victims extremely difficult, and would naturally prompt the heavy use of airlifting to deliver emergency supplies and rescue personnel, and the evacuation of quake victims, especially those critically injured.

However, initial air support was slow due to adverse weather conditions and the terrain that make low-level flight very risky. While the airdrops of paratroopers and relief supplies helped answer the question of reaching these inaccessible areas in need, the major problem of evacuating victims persisted. Official figures as of May 15th 2008 provided by the Sichuan Provincial Government state that 19,509 are confirmed dead. The Chinese Government said that the death toll could reach 50,000. Tens of thousands are missing; many of them buried, and eight provinces were affected.

Office buildings in Shanghai's financial district were evacuated. The Chengdu airport shut down, and the control tower and regional radar control evacuated. Chengdu airport has since reopened on Monday to limited flights as the airport is used as a staging area for relief operations.

Many Beijing office towers were evacuated, including the building housing the media offices for the organizers of the 2008 Summer Olympics and fortunately none of the Olympic venues were damaged. All of the highways into Wenchuan were damaged, resulting in delayed arrival of the rescue troops. Over 2,300 base stations of China Mobile in Sichuan and nearby areas went offline, while the China Unicom network in Wenchuan broke down entirely.

In Beichuan County, 80% of the buildings collapsed. In the city of Shifang, the collapse of two chemical plants led to leakage of some 80 tons of liquid ammonia, with hundreds of people reported buried. In the city of Dujiangyan, south-east of the epicenter, a whole school collapsed with 900 students buried and 50 dead.

The Juyuan middle school, where many teenagers were buried, is being excavated by civilians and cranes. Dujiangyan is home of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, which is an ancient water diversion project which is still in use and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The project's famous Fish Mouth was cracked but not severely damaged otherwise. The Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange suspended trading of companies based in southwestern China. Copper rose over speculations that production in southwestern China may be affected, and oil prices dropped over speculations that demand from China will fall.

China Mobile had more than 2,300 stations suspended due to power disruption or severe telecommunication traffic congestion. Half of the wireless communications were lost in the Sichuan Province. China Unicom's service in Wenchuan and four nearby counties were cut off, with more than 700 towers suspended.

Initially, officials were unable to contact the Wolong National Nature Reserve, home to around 280 giant pandas; however, China’s Foreign Ministry later said that a group of 31 British tourists visiting the Wolong panda reserve in the quake-hit area have returned safe and uninjured to the provincial capital. Nonetheless, the well-being of an even greater number of pandas in the neighboring panda reserves remains unknown at this point in time.

The Zipingpu Hydropower Plant located 20 km east of the epicenter has been destroyed. The dam has severe cracks and the plant and associated buildings have collapsed, and some are partly sunk. The Tulong reservoir upstream is in danger of collapse. About 2,000 troops have been allocated to Zipingpu trying to release the pressure through spillway. In total, 391 dams, most of them small, were reported damaged by the quake.

According to a Chinese online report, the quake caused 19,509 known deaths, but this figure may increase as more reports come in. In the city of Chongqing, 5 students were reported killed, 20 more buried and more than 100 injured when one primary school collapsed. Xinhua reported that more than 50 students were confirmed killed and hundreds still buried when the Juyuan high school building collapsed in Dujiangyan, the city nearest to the epicenter. The death toll exceeded 12,000 on May 13th 2008. In Sichuan Province, 25,788 people were buried and 1,405 are missing and more than 26,000 people were injured in the Mianyang area.

Officials and rescue teams have yet to reach some of the hardest hit areas closest to the epicenter due to roadways that were completely damaged or blocked off by landslides. The chief secretary of Wenchuan County said that there were some 30,000 people gathered at the major town waiting for help. One rescue team reported only 2,300 survivors from Yingxiu, out of a total population of about 9,000. 3,000 to 5,000 people were killed in Beichuan County, Sichuan Province alone, 10,000 injured and 80% of the buildings were destroyed. 8 schools were toppled in Dujiangyan.

On May 12th 2008, China's Health Ministry said that it had sent 10 emergency medical teams to Wenchuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province. On the same day, China's Chengdu Military Area Command dispatched 50,000 troops and armed police to help with disaster relief work in Wenchuan County. Because of the rough terrain and close proximity of the quake's epicenter, the soldiers found it very difficult to get help to the rural regions of the province.

Persistent heavy rain and landslides in Wenchuan County and the nearby area badly affected rescue efforts. As of May 13th 2008, the first group consisting of 1,300 soldiers and a medical unit has reached Wenchuan County. By May 13th 2008, a total of over 15,600 troops and militia reservists from Chengdu Military Region have joined the rescue force in the heavily affected areas.

A commander reported from Yingxiu town Wenchuan that around 3,000 survivors were found, while the status of the other inhabitants (around 9,000) remains unclear. The 1,300 rescuers reached the epicenter, and 300 pioneer troops reached the main city of Wenchuan. By May 14th 2008, communication in the major town of Wenchuan is partly revived. 100 paratroopers along with relief supplies parachuted into inaccessible Maoxian County, northeast of Wenchuan.

At the start of rescue operations on May 12th 2008, 20 helicopters were deployed for delivery of food, water, and emergency aid, as well as the evacuation of the injured and reconnaissance of the quake-stricken areas. By May 15th 2008, China's Premiere Wen Jiabao ordered the deployment of an additional 90 helicopters, of which 60 will be provided by the PLAAF, and 30 will be provided by the civil aviation industry. This will bring the current total of aircraft deployed in relief operations by the air force, army, and civil aviation to over 150.

China's Olympic Games organizers say they will scale down the route of the torch through the country, and there was a minute of silence when the next leg started in the south-eastern city of Ruijin on the Wednesday after the quake.