The 1996 Lijiang earthquake occurred at 19:14 on 3 February near

Lijiang City Lijiang (), also known as Likiang, is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Yunnan Province, China. It has an area of and had a population of 1,253,878 at the 2020 census whom 288,787 lived in the built-up area (metro) made of Gucheng ...

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

in southwestern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The shock measured 6.6 on the

moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...

and had a maximum

Mercalli intensity The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS), developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the eff ...

of X (''Extreme'').

Earthquake

According to authorities, up to 322 people died and more than 17,000 were injured. About 358,000 buildings were destroyed, and 320,000 people were made homeless.

Damage

The earthquake destroyed many structures and buildings in the region; property damage was estimated at 506 million US dollars. In addition to damage to structures, it triggered more than 200

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

s in a 12,000 km² area. Many further landslides occurred in the months afterwards, as

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

rains swept away debris already loosened, and as late as 1999, scientists warned that widespread ground fracturing throughout much of the area might lead to further landsliding in the event of heavy rain.

Aftershocks

One hundred and eighty-four aftershocks occurred in the first 26 hours, including 18 which measured between 4.0 and 4.8 on the Richter scale.

Aftermath

Many high-rise buildings in the area were torn down and traditional single-family dwellings were constructed in their place. Reconstruction assistance from the provincial government and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

was used to restore traditional streets, bridges, and canals. These efforts played a major role in Lijiang's efforts to achieve the

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

designation by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lijiang Earthquake 1996 Lijiang 1996 disasters in China 1996 earthquakes Lijiang earthquake 1996 Lijiang earthquake Geography of Lijiang