Rescuers search for survivors
The earthquake ruins of the unknown photos
Medical and rescue personnel to the location of survivors of the armed police report
The PLA will relief materials sent to the epicenter
Han Wang Zhen at the scene of the rescue
Helicopter transporting relief supplies
Paiqichangdui register for the public to donate blood
The 2008 Sichuan earthquake (Chinese: 四川大地震), which measured at 8.0 Ms according to the China Seismological Bureau, and 7.9 Mw according to USGS, occurred at 14:28:01.42 CST (06:28:01.42 UTC) on 12 May 2008 in Sichuan province of China. It was also known as the Wenchuan earthquake (Chinese: 汶川大地震), after the earthquake's epicenter in Wenchuan County in Sichuan province. The epicenter was 80 kilometres (50 mi) west-northwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, with a depth of 19 kilometres (12 mi).[2] 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.[5] The earthquake was also felt in nearby countries.
Official figures (as of May 22, 10:00 CST) state that 51,151 are confirmed dead, including 50,651 in Sichuan province, and 288,431 injured.[4] Tens of thousands are missing, approximately 14,000 of them buried, and eight provinces were affected.[6] The earthquake left about 4.8 million people homeless.[7] It was the deadliest and strongest earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which killed over 240,000 people.
The earthquake disaster is devastating, but in the face of disaster, the Chinese people did not yield. The first time the People's Liberation Army rushed to the disaster areas in the implementation of relief, people around the country have taken various forms of activities to support the disaster areas.
