On 7 September 2012, a series of

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

s occurred in Yiliang County, Zhaotong,

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 ...

. The two main shocks occurred at 11:19 and 12:16

China Standard Time The time in China follows a single standard time offset of UTC+08:00 (eight hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time), even though the country spans almost five geographical time zones. The official national standard time is called ''Beijing Tim ...

(03:19 and 04:16 UTC). The earthquakes left 81 people dead and 821 injured. According to the officials, at least 100,000 people were evacuated and more than 20,000 houses were damaged.

Earthquakes

There were two shocks with magnitudes exceeding 5, and they constituted an earthquake doublet. The two largest tremors were reported to be the major events in a sequence that included over 60 aftershocks. In addition to Yunnan and

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

, the shaking could be felt in

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

and

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

Effects

The earthquakes caused landslides that blocked roads in the area of the hardest hit region, the town of Luozehe (洛泽河) in Yunnan Province, as well as cutting off utilities and communications. The affected areas are densely populated and mountainous. Eighty-one people were killed, more than 800 people were injured, and more than 6,600 houses were flattened, while many thousands more were damaged. In neighbouring

Province, collapsed houses were reported in

Weining County Weining Yi Hui and Miao Autonomous County (; Xiao'erjing: ) is a county of Guizhou, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Bijie. Notable attractions include Majie Ethnic Yi Village () and the historic site of Shime ...

, and houses were damaged in Hezhang County. At least 30,265 households were left without power; 28,158 were restored by midday on 9 September 2012. Telecommunication in the affected area was restored roughly to the state before the earthquake by midday on 9 September 2012. Direct economic losses were estimated at 3.5 billion yuan (US$552 million). In Zhaotong, 96 highways were cut off by the earthquake. According to the Communications Bureau of Zhaotong Prefecture, frequent aftershocks and landslides could cut off restored road access. Premier

Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy ...

flew to Yiliang and spoke to victims of the earthquakes. He also visited hospitals and tent settlements set up for the displaced.

Relief efforts

The Red Cross has sent jackets, quilts, tents, rice, and cooking oil to the affected area. Sichuan Province sent medical personnel and ambulances to Yunnan for support. The central government of China allocated a fund of 1.05 billion yuan (US$165 million) on 8 September 2012 for relief and reconstruction.

References

Sources

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