The 2008 Sichuan earthquake, also called the Wenchuan earthquake, was a powerful earthquake that struck the mountainous province of Sichuan in southwestern China on an afternoon in May, with a magnitude of about 7.9. It was caused by movement along the Longmen Shan fault on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Close to seventy thousand people were confirmed dead, with many thousands more missing, and millions of people were left homeless. Many schools collapsed, killing thousands of children, and this caused anger over poor construction and corruption. China launched a large rescue and rebuilding effort, and several towns, such as Beichuan, were left as ruins or moved. The earthquake was the deadliest in China for decades.
Before and after
- March 2008Construction of Beijing National Stadium
- 1 April 2008Discovery of WASP-12b
- 10 April 2008Launch of GitHub
- 29 April 2008Release of Grand Theft Auto IV
- 12 May 20082008 Sichuan earthquake
- 19 May 2008First flight of Yakovlev SJ-100
- 23 May 2008Founding of Union of South American Nations
- 30 May 2008Discovery of MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb
- 7 June 2008Establishment of Vatnajökull National Park
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The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 21st century.