LDC Earthquake (Sichuan, China) Flashcards
When
12th May 2008 at 2:28pm
Plates
Indian Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate, along the Longmenshan fault line
Scale
7.9 on Richter Scale
Tremor lengths
120 seconds
Death toll initial and later
Initial- 8700
11 days later- 55,000
2 months later- 69,000 and 18,000 missing
Injured
374,000 injured
Homeless
At least 5 million, maybe up to 11 million
Buildings collapsed
80% of buildings collapsed
5 million
School
Juyuan school collapsed in Dujiangyan city which killed 900 pupils
Communications
Brought to a halt, no phones working in Wenchuan and roads blocked by landslides which also blocked some rivers
Cost
$75 million
Immediate response
- 20 helicopters were assigned to rescue
- Troops began parachuting in and some hiked on foot
- Large scale efforts were made to free trapped survivors from collapsed buildings
- Calls were made to increase production of tents
Tents needed
3.3 million
Help requested
14th May, China requested international help
Who helped
Japan, Russia and South Korea