The 2008 Sichuan earthquake killed over 69,000 people, making it China's deadliest earthquake since 1976 and the 18th deadliest of all time.
Key Facts
- Magnitude
- 8.0 Ms (7.9–8.3 Mw)
- Death toll
- Over 69,000 people
- Injured
- 374,176 people
- Homeless
- At least 4.8 million people
- Economic loss
- 845.1 billion yuan (~US$130 billion)
- Landslides triggered
- ~200,000
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The earthquake resulted from rupture along a fault in Sichuan province, with the fault breaking for over 240 km and surface displacements of several meters. The focal depth was 19 km beneath the surface, concentrating destructive energy across a densely populated region of approximately 15 million inhabitants.
On May 12, 2008, at 14:28 China Standard Time, an 8.0 Ms earthquake struck 80 km west-northwest of Chengdu, Sichuan. Tremors were felt as far as Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok, and Hanoi. Strong aftershocks exceeding 6 Ms continued for months, and the quake triggered roughly 200,000 landslides and over 800 quake lakes across 110,000 km².
More than 69,000 people died, 374,176 were injured, and at least 4.8 million were left homeless. Geohazards accounted for at least one third of the fatalities. The Chinese government announced a 1 trillion yuan reconstruction program over three years as part of its broader economic stimulus package, one of the largest disaster recovery efforts in the country's history.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 69,000 (earthquake)