Print Page | Send to Friend | Site Map

Science Blog ZINC PROJECTS

May 2008 quake in China a rare event

Date: 03-Jul-08
Author: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

A new analysis of the setting for last month's devastating earthquake in China by a team of geoscientists at MIT shows that the quake resulted from faults with little seismic activity, and that similar events in that area occur only once in every 2,000 to 10,000 years, on average.

However, the researchers caution that because earthquakes can sometimes occur in clusters, people should still be wary of another possible large-scale earthquake.

The magnitude 7.9 quake struck Sichuan province on May 12 ... More than 69,000 people have been confirmed dead so far, and more than 374,000 injured, with fears of further casualties because several lakes created by rockfall dams may give way and cause sudden flooding.

This map shows the devastating magnitude 7.9 earthquake that struck the Sichuan Province in China and the strong aftershocks in the following days. Courtesy: NASA

Geologists at MIT have been doing extensive research in that region of China and the Tibetan plateau for more than two decades, but had found no hints that suggested such a large earthquake might strike the area. The team operated an array of 25 broadband seismograph stations in this region of western Sichuan for more than a year.

The earthquake may have involved a simultaneous rupture of two separate but contiguous faults.

Full story: MIT shows China quake was rare event

Related links:

• U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program
• United Nations International Charter "Space and Major Disasters"
• Satellite images at NASA Earth Observatory
NOTE: Enter "China earthquake" in the search field. Search for additional images under "Sichuan earthquake". Some search results are not related to this event.