Earthquake of a magnitude 7.8 reported in China *UPDATE* 'to top 50,000' killed

reply to post by IchiNiSan


Let us hope that Shenzhen stays safe. That is interesting that you mentioned the animal life that predicted the event. When we felt those earthquakes here in the midwest a few weeks back my dog refused to eat the day before and paced nervously. I have always believed they can sense the release of energy long before it happens.

I just read that the death count was over 10,000.

reply to post by Witness2008


Yes, the animals and insects still have the 6th sense to detect disasters. We as a specie lost that a long time ago I think. I was in Taipei when there was a 3 Earthquake (not epicenter), in my hotel bathroom I was about to take a shower after a dinner. The whole bathroom was moving, the first thing I thought was "did I drink that much?", it was only when my colleague bumped on my door and the second quaking that I realized it was an Earthquake. I was lucky and it went over with a fuss. But this is a clear example that we humans and especially who are living in urban areas have no sense of the nature.

By the way, WenChuan is the area where 60,000 people are out of reach and contact, which nobody knows what happened there. Only 20 km now...

EDIT: Just heard 7.8 Earthquake is equivalent to 400 Hiroshima nukes? Can anyone confirm that?


[edit on 13/5/08 by IchiNiSan]

Just heard that the pilot of a helicopter was crying reporting that over 95% of the buildings in Wenchuan has collapsed... And that he did not see many people moving

We need to be prepared for the worst for these trapped 60,000 missing people



[edit on 13/5/08 by IchiNiSan]

let's roll out the red carpet for the apocalyptic people . . .

Prophecies aside, it's kind of hard to imagine this world lasting much longer with the way we're abusing the planet. It's obvious that we're pissing her off.

reply to post by IchiNiSan


According to the link I leave here it would be a few thousand more than 400. I would not have thought you a drinker...our past conversations were so sobbering. Just kidding.

You have been on my mind all day. I sure would like to see wwssi pop in here soon.

Everything happens for a reason, it's too bad change and growth have to be so painful.

reply to post by Witness2008


Business, customers, you have to deal with them, even now I still get phone calls chasing for pricing and leadtimes.... The worst is bringing them to certain entertainment places, which I don't think your potential suppliers will bring you to ...

We will get over this disaster and learn from it, life goes on.

Wen JiaBao is ordering the country to prepare for the three most important shortages in the area:
1) Food: biscuits, bread, mineral water, powdered milk
2) Tents, a lot of them
3) medicines, drugs and medical teams/personnel is being mobilized from all over the country

Oh, dear, i just heard the news of the quake.

The estimate of the death total is highly undersstated in my opinion...

7.8 is huge...

How many 7.0+ quakes have we had this last decade on this planet...

There are so many people in China? How close was this to "Major" city?

I can't imagine how the buildings took it?

I realy hope people get to those that are trapped, i am sure more people are trapped then they even realise yet.

Originally posted by Sublime620
Did China help us after Katrina?

I don't think that should matter. It shouldn't matter that the Chiniese goverment doesn't care about American lifes, we should hold to our standards, and care for all people that are in bad positions.

We should help to the fullest extent we can, but like the situation in Burma, i belive the Chinese Goverment would let the people dies from a billion diffrent things, before accepting aid from the west.

In the US, our buildings, at least on the west coast, have been designed to be quake-resistant for many many decades, i doubt this happen in this effected region.


A good amount of this aid that cannot get into Burma, should be rerouted to this area... hopefully the after-shocks dont cuase any damage.

i remember that Chinese Gov provided five million dollars equivalent of donation to america after the hurricane. that was the first time that China provided aids to a developed nation.. but this is not the case here, i suppose.

thanks, on behalf of myself, for all the bless and care from all of you on this special occasion..leave the politics alone for a while, let's pray together.. i am fine in beijing, but deeply sad for Sichuan.

[edit on 13-5-2008 by wwssii]

reply to post by wwssii



Good to here from you wwssii, you and Ichin are the chiniese members that i know of.

I hope people keep Conspiricy theories, and political BS out of this.


I am inpressed with the way the Chinese are handling it, apointing someone with total power to decide how to control the situation is an effective method. Goverment Buerocay is what has plauged the US in most botched relief efforts.

I just saw the first pictures of buried killed school childrens Made me cry for the first time in years... Will not post the pictures here.... only kids.....

Just heard that another strong aftershock stopped many of the rescue works, and some new places collapsed again. Another aftershock of 6.1 on 15:07

More and more worried for the life of those 60,000 trapped, there is a report that despite the 20km, it might take another 10 hours before they can reach the victims there


TK, actually this time the central government reacted quite effectively and quickly. Decisive actions are done, and except for those 60,000 trapped in the epicenter, which is over 24 hours that there are no news from them, there is an announcement issued that nobody should call Sichuan now, to keep the network as clear and open as possible for rescue workers and potential SOS calls. So I'm afraid that on top of the 9219 confirmed dead, there might be a maximum of an extra 60-70,000 victims. I do have hope, last night rescue workers got in contact with a county of 30,000 trapped people after more than 12 hours out of contact, it was confirmed most of them were A-okay. I'm praying...

Originally posted by IchiNiSan
More and more worried for the life of those 60,000 trapped, there is a report that despite the 20km, it might take another 10 hours before they can reach the victims there

At least you can know that the rescue efforts are going to be seriously well organised, efficient and flexible - that's what the Chinese are good at. And they are getting help from all corners I bet.

Just woke up and logged on to find the death toll has shot up - sorry to say but that is no surprise considering the power unleashed at such a shallow depth, and the terrain.

Best wishes

reply to post by TKainZero


In reply to your question as to how many quakes of 7.5 or greater there have been in the last 10 years, there have been 51 (at least) since 1/1/1999 up to today that have (as USGS puts it) "caused fatalities, injuries or substantial damage". Of course, quakes of far less than 7.5 can have devastating results, depending upon their depth, direction and type of movement, the surface characteristics of the land (or the sea floor if a sub-sea quake) and the ability of infrastructure/buildings to withstand them.

You can access data about "historic quakes" at www.earthquake.usgs.gov...

(Please note that the lists accessible on this page rate quakes of 6.5 or greater...I went through the past ten years and counted those that were of mag. 7.5 or more...)

While it is true that many buildings in the western regions of the US have been constructed to withstand earthquakes up to a certain magnitude, that does not mean the threat of massive devastation resulting from a quake is one that can be taken lightly... For example, the greatest threat to that part of the US is not from a quake along the San Andreas fault system (which includes many fault lines and not just one), but from an under-sea quake in the region where the Juan de Fuca plate meets the Pacific plate and the Noth American plate -- namely off the coast of Oregon. The last major energy release on one of the boundaries (which is considered by seismologists to be "stuck") occurred on Jan 26, 1700 and was around a magnitude 9. The resultant tsunami when it washed ashore reached an estimated height in some places of around 30 metres (over 90 feet) and flooded inland, near-coastal lakes. The date of the quake is known because Japanese people recorded details of the tsunami when it came ashore in their lands some hours later, after crossing the Pacific ocean... Another quake must eventually occur along this stuck boundary and it is expected it will release similar energies to previous events.

Back to China...The Chinese people are, I feel, quite capable of dealing with a disaster of this magnitude. Yes, it is a terrible and tragic event and there is no way that politics should play any part in the way we view it...The thought of collapsing school buildings is just gut-wrenching for me and I am certain for many others as well. Children are -- well, they are children... But we know that the Chinese Premier visited the area within hours and did not waste any time in ordering in all the necessary resources. I understand that Civil defense is very well-organized in China, and I have no doubt that they will make every effort to help their people in this tragic time.


[edit on 13-5-2008 by JustMike]

Because three attempts to edit my post (above) met with failure for some reason, I'd like to add that my comments vis a vis building standards in the US were related to another post.

Thanks,
Mike.

From my observations, it seems that the Geography of the region is very mountainous, that will make all travel Hard.


I can't fathom what is going on at the epicenter, 60,000 people... couldn't they get a chopper in there to at least get a damage report.


Here in California, ever since '94, we have been waiting for the 'big' one. And since then , it seems every other place on earth has gotten hit with a 7.0+...

I wonder how long California can dodge the bullet...

I am in a really bad place right now if any thign crazy happen, I am at near sea-level but far inland, near a large river...

Some of the pictures i am seeing are terrorfying... i am crying at the loss of life.


WE cannot think about polotics in a situation like this, even if we were at the brink of war with this country, no one should have to be in this situation. Friend or Foe, we have a responsiblity to help people.

"...For Life..." Nothing more need said...

Here is a list going back to the 7.9 (at the bottom) and running thru the subsequent 24 hours and 40 min.

Earthquake List for Map of Asia Region

2008/05/12 06:28:00 UTC thru 2008/05/13 07:19:16 UTC -- listed as most recent from top to bottom...


5.0 2008/05/13 07:19:16 32.472 105.338 SICHUAN-GANSU BORDER REGION, CHINA
5.9 2008/05/13 07:07:09 30.942 103.246 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
4.6 2008/05/13 05:36:29 32.606 105.487 SICHUAN-GANSU BORDER REGION, CHINA
4.4 2008/05/13 05:25:47 32.600 105.221 SICHUAN-GANSU BORDER REGION, CHINA
5.0 2008/05/13 03:00:38 31.222 103.671 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.3 2008/05/12 23:54:47 31.307 103.576 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.4 2008/05/12 23:46:19 31.319 103.501 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
4.6 2008/05/12 21:08:14 31.385 103.436 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
4.8 2008/05/12 20:51:26 32.312 104.958 SICHUAN-GANSU BORDER REGION, CHINA
5.3 2008/05/12 20:45:31 31.759 104.420 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.6 2008/05/12 20:08:48 31.420 103.906 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
4.4 2008/05/12 18:55:21 32.223 104.850 SICHUAN-GANSU BORDER REGION, CHINA
5.1 2008/05/12 17:54:32 31.250 103.492 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
4.8 2008/05/12 17:52:23 31.891 104.449 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
4.9 2008/05/12 17:03:10 31.133 103.586 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.1 2008/05/12 15:28:53 31.056 103.509 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.1 2008/05/12 15:05:31 31.256 103.704 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.1 2008/05/12 14:46:07 32.730 105.610 SICHUAN-GANSU BORDER REGION, CHINA
5.1 2008/05/12 14:15:26 32.140 104.613 SICHUAN-GANSU BORDER REGION, CHINA
4.8 2008/05/12 13:40:54 31.038 103.518 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
4.9 2008/05/12 12:15:41 31.898 104.623 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.8 2008/05/12 11:11:02 31.249 103.693 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.1 2008/05/12 10:23:40 30.992 103.413 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.5 2008/05/12 09:42:25 31.519 104.116 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
4.9 2008/05/12 09:23:34 32.142 104.894 SICHUAN-GANSU BORDER REGION, CHINA
5.1 2008/05/12 09:07:00 31.255 103.788 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.0 2008/05/12 08:47:25 32.215 105.029 SICHUAN-GANSU BORDER REGION, CHINA
4.9 2008/05/12 08:26:12 31.399 103.957 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.2 2008/05/12 08:21:40 31.542 104.085 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.2 2008/05/12 08:10:59 31.225 103.574 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.4 2008/05/12 07:34:42 31.278 103.799 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
5.7 2008/05/12 06:54:18 31.155 103.826 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
6.0 2008/05/12 06:43:14 31.225 103.761 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA
7.9 2008/05/12 06:28:00 31.021 103.367 EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA


[edit on 5/13/2008 by RabbitChaser]

Some of the pictures coming out are just horrible. Very sad picture on foxnews home page currently.

I have a feeling the toll is going to be well over 400K. A lot of towns are more secluded and in terms of accounting, it really hasnt even begun. Entire towns leveled.

This along with whats happened in Myramar (sp?) will probably equally over half a million people dead. Pretty much over the period of days. Thats not including people that will die afterwards from complications of such things.


The 400K number may be high, but with as concentrated everything is, its highly possible.


[edit on 5/13/2008 by AndrewTB]

Originally posted by TKainZero
I can't fathom what is going on at the epicenter, 60,000 people... couldn't they get a chopper in there to at least get a damage report.

Unconfirmed report from some forums say that the pilots of the chopters making the damage reports are crying in Wenchuan. Flying in bad weather conditions one of them reported 95% of buildings collapsed and he could not see people moving....

reply to post by RabbitChaser


It misses a 6.1 aftershock on 15:07 ...

[edit on 13/5/08 by IchiNiSan]

have there been reports of rock slides?