History of Wenchuan County

1. Wenchuan earthquake is the first big earthquake in China's history

December 21, 2004 The world's largest earthquake In the history of the world, that earthquake is the largest? There is still no conclusive answer. In the history of mankind, the world has had many major earthquakes: what is the largest earthquake? Due to the limitations of human understanding, the evaluation criteria are inconsistent, and the understanding is also very inconsistent. Scientists recognize the largest earthquake as magnitude 8.9. But which earthquake can be classified as 8.9? There are many different opinions. Some believe that the earthquake that occurred in Chile on May 22, 1960 at 19:11 in South America was the largest, with a magnitude of 8.9. Others believe that the earthquake that occurred in the sea near the Ecuador-Colombia border in South America on January 31, 1906 was the largest, with a magnitude of 8.9. Others believe that the earthquake that occurred in the sea off the east coast of Sanriku, Japan, on March 3, 1933, was the largest, with a magnitude of 8.9. However, there are also different views. The 1933 Sanriku earthquake in Japan was estimated by the Japanese themselves to have a magnitude of only 8.5; the 1906 earthquake in the sea near the Ecuador-Colombia border was also generally categorized as a magnitude of only 8.6; the 1960 Chilean earthquake was also categorized as a magnitude of 8.5 or 8.75, and was even categorized as a magnitude of 8.3, and classified as an average large earthquake. It is worth pointing out that before and after the 1960 Chilean earthquake, in just a day and a half, more than 7 magnitude earthquake occurred at least 5 times, of which 3 reached or exceeded 8 magnitude. If the entire seismic process is viewed in a unified manner, the Chilean earthquake is a rare mega-earthquake in terms of its size and the amount of energy released....

2. Seek the history of Wenchuan

Wen (wèn) Sichuan County is located in the northwestern edge of the Sichuan Basin, residing in the southeastern Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, east of Pengzhou City, Dujiangyan City, south of Chongzhou City, Danyi County, west of Baoxing, Xiaogin County, northwestern and northeastern respectively, with the Li County, Maohu County, the county east-west width of 84 kilometers, north-south length of 105 kilometers, with a total area of 8,820 square kilometers, the forest coverage rate up to 48%.

The county town of Weizhou is located in the northern part of the county Minjiang River and mixed brain river junction, elevation of 1,325 meters, surrounded by the Chaping Mountains, Qionglai Mountains, and many other mountains around the provincial capital of Chengdu 146 kilometers, the state capital of Malcolm 246 kilometers, National Highway 213, 317 line through the city. Since the restoration of the county in 1963 to the present, the county jurisdiction of 6 towns and 8 townships, with a total population of 111,788, of which, the non-agricultural population of 40,057; Qiang population of 29,839, accounting for 26.69% of the total population, is one of the four Qiang inhabited counties in China.

Minjiang River runs through the western area of the county, up to 88 kilometers long, mainly with Zaogu Brain, Yuzixi, Caopo and other rivers, with a watershed area of 1,429 square kilometers. The county is rich in hydro energy resources, theoretical reserves of 3.48 million kilowatts, can be developed 1.7 million kilowatts, has been developed 1 million kilowatts, the development potential is huge.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wenchuan County was relocated to Weizhou in 1952, and in 1958, Wenchuan County was removed from the county and the county of Maoshen, Li County, merged with the establishment of Maowen Qiang Autonomous County.

In 1963, the county was reestablished, and by the end of 1990, the county was organized into 3 towns and 14 villages.

On May 12, 2008, at 14:28:04.0 seconds, Wenchuan County experienced a massive 8.0 magnitude earthquake. Local customs: The Qiang culture here has not been affected by the impact of foreign cultures in the past, so it has basically maintained its original customs. Here is also inherited for thousands of years the Qiang family boy and girl love to sing the custom of songs, every year during the Qiang festival, the village, the boys and girls are not only love songs, but also with the village people together around the fire pot dance, eat a large piece of meat, drink homemade rice wine, smack wine, blowing Qiang flute, suona, mouth harp, playing the drums, the all-night long, the scene is full of lively rich western Qiang ethnic characteristics.

Here, the woman is called "Pazi", and women are usually at home weaving, cooking, and raising livestock. The men are called "top pazi", meaning "top of the big things".

In the Qiang village during the farming season, the men went out to work, the women moved out of the needle and thread basket, the sun deck, the threshold is full of embroidery women. Qiang people live in the mountains, very close to the clouds, the rain is more cloud smoke rising, the cloud gave them inspiration, they will be embroidered on the cloud shoes (and cuffs, lapels, pants, handkerchiefs), will be the cloud under the feet, every step in the clouds, living in the clouds on the day.

Even the walled village has *** traditional clothing men, also without exception wearing cloud cloud shoes, colorful and exquisite cloud cloud shoes in the men's blue and black uniforms below the very eye-catching, to the heroic Qiang family man added to the tenderness of the children. The clothing of the Qiang people is made of self-produced flax after processing and spinning, commonly known as "hemp cloth shirt", or woven with cow's wool after hanging the thread, commonly known as "shirt", and there are also cloth shirts, with the green color as the most.

The men wear waistbands and the women wear flower belts, sleeveless sheepskin lab coats, and grass shoes or "yunyun shoes" (Qiang embroidered cloth shoes). Due to the influence of the outside world, some of the young Qiangs in Radish Village are now wearing Chinese clothes.

The Qiang embroidery and picking were very popular in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Qiang women of Radish Village were trained in flower picking and embroidery since they were young, and often engaged in spinning, weaving, flower picking and embroidery in their spare time from farming.

They pick flowers and embroidery, one does not sample, two do not draw a line, depending on their own ideas, free to use the five-color silk thread and cotton thread, hand picking and embroidery rich in Qiang characteristics of the pattern, such as colorful geometric patterns, lifelike flowers and animals.

3. Wenchuan from now on how much history

Since the Han Dynasty, the establishment of Wenjiang, Mianchi, Wenshan, Wenchuan and other establishments in the territory of the Minjiang River named, according to the "Yuanhe County Records": Wenchuan County "because of the county of the west of Wenshui for the name". Ancient "Wen", "Min" universal, so the Min River is also read as the Wen River.

Ancient Ran shaggy (sān) Department of the year (111 BC) to Ran shaggy place Wenshan County, jurisdiction of Mianchi and other 5 counties, Mianchi for the county, the county's old site in the town of present-day Weizhou Jiang Wei City. Eastern Han Dynasty had changed Mianchi County for Mianchi Road, Western Jin Dynasty changed Mianchi County for Wenchuan County. After the eastern Jin dynasty Wenchuan county overseas Chinese moved to Du'an (now Dujiangyan city), the abolition of Mianchi county. Xiao Liang in Mianchi County, Wenchuan County, Western Wei Province. Northern Zhou days and three years (568 years) reset Wenchuan County, the county seat is still in Jiangwei City, until the Ming Dynasty Xuande years over the governance of cold water stage (now Wenchuan County, Mianchi Township *** location).

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China *** and the State, in 1952, moved the county of Wenchuan County in Weizhou. 1958 had withdrawn from Wenchuan County and Mao County, Li County, the merger of the establishment of the Qiang Autonomous County of Maowen. 1963 was reset. 1990 at the end of the county's administrative set up for the 3 towns, 14 townships.

4. Who has the history of the Qiang people in Wenchuan

The two stories of the origin of the group, "Muzizhu and Zhenbibiwa" and "Qiango Wars", were originally the collective memories of a group of people: in this way, the group was cohesive.

It is not known how many people in the upper Min River shared this social memory. But it is clear that these stories are now being used by Qiang intellectuals in Wenchuan, Mao and Li counties, as well as by Han Chinese scholars, to explain the origins of the Qiang, or Ma, or Erma.

The Qiang identity created in this way is a Qiang identity dominated by the intellectuals of Wenchuan, Mao County and Li County.

However, through the publication and circulation of various Qiang folk stories and books on Qiang history and culture, and through the transmission of Qiang identity through school education, they will one day become the collective memory of all Qiang people. In Wenchuan, there is a theory that the Gogi people later fled to the northern Heishui region and became the ancestors of the Heishui people.

A Wenchuan intellectual said: 11. Some of us still say that the Goki people went towards the Blackwater. We call the people of the Black Water savages, unreasonable people.

In Qiang language, they are called "luozi" (剥罗子), the unreasonable ones. It doesn't matter if they are Tibetans or Qiangs, they are Blackwater people.

They may be related to the Tibetans. Peeling, Tubo.

Because they, the Blackwater people, have been a danger to this area, to Li County, Weizhou, Mianchi. Mao, Wenzhou, and Li are one; and then expanding is Songpan and Heishui.

Beichuan has nothing to do with here, because the water system is different. We can see that in the identity system of the Qiang in Wenchuan, the Qiang in Mao, Wen and Li are the core of the Qiang, and the Heishui people are excluded.

In the broader Qiang identity, the Heishui are included in the Qiang along with the Songpan. This reporter, if not excluding the Beichuan people from the Qiang, at least labeling them as the most distantly related to the Qiang of Mao, Wen, and Li.

Such a Qiang identity system is also expressed in a story told by another Wenchuan Longxi person: 12. I think it's about two children or something. The two got married and got pregnant.

The pregnancy lasted over a year and they gave birth to a meatball. They were on top of a mountain, and it was a very thin lump of meat, so they chopped it up into a few balls and spread it around.

The next day, there was smoke everywhere, here a householder, there a householder. The people came like this.

Later, after the flood drowned the people, it salted nine ditches and nine cottages. Three fall nine Ping eighteen Zhai, the whole Wenchuan, Li County, Mao County into nine ditch nine Zhai.

At that time, a great Walled, but also includes the black water, this river may also include. Here we can also see that the distribution of the so-called "nine ditches and nine villages", the reporter is still to Wenchuan, Mao County, Li County as the center, followed by Heishui, the last is not sure of Beichuan.

Beichuan Qiang The Qiang are one of the oldest ethnic groups in the motherland. The ancient Qiang people had a wide and far-reaching influence on the historical development and ethnic development of China.

From the period of historical legends, when ****workers congested the hundreds of rivers, Shennong taught the people to cultivate and weave, and from Yan Huang to Xia Yu, to the formation of Huaxia, all of them were inseparable from the ancient Qiang people. Jia Kui's note to the Zhou Language says: "**** Gong's Jiang surname."

"Taiping Yuban" says: "Shennong's ginger surname." Jiang means Qiang.

The Records of the Grand Historian (史记-六国年表)："Yu was born in Western Qiang." "Taiping Yuban" cited Huang Fu Quiet "Emperor Century": "Bo Yu Xia Hou's, Si surname also, born in Shi New ...... long in Xikang, Xikang Yi (people) also.

Qiao Zhou "Shu Benji" said: "Yu Ben Wenshan Guangru County people also, born in Shi Niu." Guangru is in the present-day Qiang region.

"Water Classic Note - Foamy Water" Guangruo County article: "County has Shi Niu Township, Yu was born also." Today, the Qiang people live in Mao County, Li County, Wenchuan, Beichuan County have Yu traces and records, especially in Beichuan County, Yuli Township, Yu remains, records, legends, etc. more complete.

Most academics believe that, according to the legend and historical records, Beichuan Yucheng is the birthplace of Yu. Xu Zhongshu, a famous historian, said, "The main tribe of the Xia Dynasty was the Qiang, and according to the Qiang legends that have been passed down for 500 years from Han to Jin, there is no reason for us to say that Xia is not Qiang."

(Xu Zhongshu: "Patriarchal Families and Their Kinship Appellations in Ancient China", in Journal of Sichuan University, No. 1, 1980). Therefore, the contribution of the ancient Qiang people to the creation of China's first dynasty, the Xia Dynasty, is notorious in history.

The ancient Qiang were mainly active in the vast area of northwest China, and most of the Qiang who migrated to the central plains were Chineseized. The Yellow River, Huangshui, Taohe River, Datong River, and the upper reaches of the Minjiang River in Sichuan are the centers of activity of the ancient Qiang people in present-day Gansu and Qinghai.

During the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the ancient Qiang had many tribes, such as the Beiqiang and the Maqiang, and lived a nomadic life without a fixed place of residence, while some Qiangs were engaged in agricultural production. (Xu Zhongshu, Slavery and Feudalism in China, p.27)

The Qiang were the "Fang Guo" of the Yin and Shang dynasties. There were also Qiang leaders in the Shang dynasty, including Qiang Ke and Qiang Li, who were the sacrificial officials of the Shang dynasty in the period of Wu Ding.

(History of the Qiang, Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House, 1985 edition, p. 27.)

The Zhou people and the Qiang people even closer relationship. Zhang Binglin "review - order caste" said: "Qiang, Jiang also".

Fu Si-nian, "Jiang original" said, "Ji Zhou when a branch of the Jiang surname, or two branches of a larger family." Legend has it that Jiang Yuan, the mother of the founder of Ji Zhou, "abandoned", was a daughter of the Jiang tribe, and Ji Zhou and Jiang Qiang should be the two groups of mutual marriage.

The alliance of Zhou with Jiang and Qiang was an important condition for the destruction of the Shang Dynasty by King Wu. After the Zhou Dynasty was established, some of the Jiang Qiang people were partitioned into the Central Plains, such as Qi, which was partitioned in present-day Shandong, ("Historical Records - Qi Taigong Shijia").

Shen, Lv and Xu, which were divided in the area of Xuchang and Nanyang in present-day Henan Province, were all Jiang states. This part of the Jiang surname Qiang people who entered the Central Plains at the time of the Zhou Dynasty, through the Western Zhou Dynasty, has basically integrated with the Huaxia people and become an important part of the Huaxia race.

After King Ping of Zhou moved east, some of the Qiang people.

5. Wenchuan is one of the worst earthquakes in history

The world's deadliest and deadliest earthquake: the Great Guanzhong Earthquake in China on February 2, 1556, which killed more than 850,000 people and affected 211 counties in seven provinces.

◆ The world's largest loss of earthquake: December 26, 2004, Indonesia Sumatra island near the waters of the largest earthquake in 40 years, and triggered a large tsunami, nearly 250,000 people were killed, the economic losses amounted to tens of billions of U.S. dollars.

◆ The earliest recorded earthquake in China: An earthquake that occurred in Puzhou (as it is now called) during the Yao and Shun era (23rd century BC) in China.

◆ The world's largest fire caused by an earthquake: September 1, 1923, Kanto 8.3 earthquake in Japan, the majority of wooden houses in Tokyo, there were 366,000 homes were burned, the deaths and the whereabouts of the people reached 140,000 people, the majority of whom were killed by the earthquake triggered fires; the city of Yokosuka, there were 35,000 homes were burned; the city of Yokohama, there were 58,000 homes were burned.

◆ The earthquake that caused the largest flood in China: the 7.5-magnitude earthquake that struck south of Kangding, China, on June 1, 1786, cut off the Dadu River due to a landslide, which broke 10 days later and caused a massive flood that killed hundreds of thousands of people.

◆ The largest earthquake in the history of the world: May 22, 1960 at 19:11 occurred in South America, Chile earthquake, the magnitude of 8.9. From May 21, 225 consecutive tremors, 3 times more than 8, 10 times more than 7, the scale of its size, the release of energy, is rare. It caused 140,000 people to be killed.

◆ The world's first successful forecast and achieved significant disaster reduction effect of earthquakes: China's earthquake workers successfully predicted the February 4, 1975 Haicheng 7.3 magnitude earthquake.

◆ Which earthquake in the world is not only the first magnitude, the first rupture length, and caused the most harmful earthquake and tsunami? May 22, 1960 at 19:11 occurred in Chile, South America, the magnitude of the magnitude of 8.9. With a magnitude of about 9.5 (MW), it was the largest earthquake of the century. The tsunami caused by this earthquake hit the Pacific coast of Tohoku, Japan, with a height of up to 6 meters, causing more than 1,000 deaths, injuries, and disappearances. The earthquake ruptured a fault length of about 1,000 meters, which still ranks as the world's largest earthquake since the beginning of the instrumental record.

◆ Inventor of the world's first geodesic instrument: The world's first geodesic instrument (Houfeng geodesic instrument) is China's Eastern Han Dynasty scientists Zhang Heng invented, in 138 AD recorded to Longxi earthquake.

◆ China's earliest self-built seismic stations and seismic telemetry network: 1930 China's first seismic station - Beijing Xishan Wufeng seismic station, built under the auspices of Mr. Li Shanbang and Mr. Qin Xinling, the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 after the war to stop observing the network of telemetry stations in Beijing was completed in 1966, there are eight sub-stations.

◆What is the most widespread earthquake in China's history? The most widespread earthquake in China's history was the 8.5-magnitude earthquake that occurred in Haiyuan, Ningxia, on December 16, 1920, with a depth of 17 kilometers. The earthquake affected 18 provinces, cities and autonomous regions, including Ningxia, Qinghai, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Henan, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, Sichuan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Fujian. Sensitive area of more than 2.5 million square kilometers, accounting for more than a quarter of the total land area of China.

◆ Which is the worst earthquake landslide in China's history? It was the landslide caused by the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake of magnitude 8.5 in Ningxia. Along the extreme seismic zone of the earthquake, the amount of landslides caused by the earthquake was too large to count! Within 65 kilometers of the peripheral zone alone, landslides covered an area of 31 square kilometers. As many as 503 landslides occurred in the four counties of Huining, Jingning, Longde and Jingyuan. A 5,500-meter-long landslide was formed along the Shibei Plateau in Guyuan. In the upper reaches of the Qingjiangyi Ring River in Huining, landslides blocked a 2,500-meter-long section of the Ring River and formed an earthquake weir in its upper reaches.

◆ Which earthquake caused the most damaging earthquake-lake tsunami? The same mechanism as the earthquake tsunami occurs, such as earthquakes occur in the bottom of the lake or lake shore, it will cause lake tsunami. According to recent data, China's largest earthquake lake tsunami to December 23, 1951, Yunnan Jianchuan 6.3 earthquake for the largest. When the earthquake Jianhu Lake waves as high as 4-5 feet, surging up the lake shore up to 1 kilometer.

◆ Which is the largest earthquake fire in China's history? Earthquake fires are one of the most important secondary disasters of earthquakes. According to records, the earthquake fire the longest extension of time first April 11, 1870 occurred in Sichuan Batang 7.25 earthquake. At 10 am earthquake, residents are in the fire cooking, the earthquake caused the collapse of the building, the fire burned up to a week, can be described as the longest earthquake fire.

6. Wenchuan, Sichuan historical earthquake information

August 1900 (Qing Guangxu 26 years in July) Qionglai earthquake, Xingjing, Gandhara and other places felt.

August 30, 1900 (Qing Guangxu thirty years on July 24) Daofu more than 7 earthquake, two hundred miles along the way most of the houses down. July 30, August 2 and quake.

November 8, 1905 (Qing Guangxu 31 October 12) earthquake in Zigong, Yibin also quake, 19 aftershocks in ten days.

Since 1949, there have been three earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher in Sichuan: April 14, 1955, Kangding, a magnitude 7. February 6, 1973, Fuhuo 7.9 earthquake, the affected area of about 6,000 square kilometers, of which 2,000 square kilometers of the range of the disaster situation is more serious. August 16, 1976, Songpan, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake.

7. The origin of the Wenchuan earthquake

The specific mechanism of this earthquake was mainly extrusion at the beginning, and there may have been a release of energy from the landslide towards the end of the earthquake.

Sichuan has not had any strong earthquakes for a long time, which is called a lack of earthquakes in the industry, that is, a lack of strong earthquakes, and according to historical experience, the longer the lack of time, the greater the likelihood of future occurrence (strong earthquakes). Although the Longmen Mountain area does not appear to be strong tectonic activity, but may be in the process of accumulation of stress, accumulation to a certain extent, the crust will rupture, so that the earthquake.

In terms of earthquake forecasting, the United States, Japan, and other developed countries are no more advanced than we are. They are more advanced in terms of the safety of building defenses, and the fact that the location and magnitude of an earthquake can be determined fairly quickly after it occurs.

The earthquake, which shocked the country with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale, began at 14:28 Beijing time on May 12, and originated in Wenchuan County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, with a magnitude equal to that of the Tangshan earthquake 32 years ago. The tremor was felt across the country, except in Jilin, Heilongjiang and Xinjiang regions.

According to relevant experts estimate that the epicenter of the intensity of about 10 degrees, for the shallow earthquake, the depth of roughly 10 kilometers, after the earthquake has been said by experts that the release of energy is comparable to 400 Hiroshima atomic bomb. As of press time, the aftershock has occurred more than two thousand times, more than 5 aftershocks for 14 times, the largest aftershock is 6.5, occurred in Gansu, 6.1 aftershocks occurred in Wenchuan, Sichuan.

Why did such a big earthquake happen The public is generally concerned about why this place, Wenchuan, had such a big earthquake. In the grand scheme of things, Wenchuan is on one of China's major seismic belts - the North-South Seismic Belt. Experts from the China Earthquake Administration believe that because the geological distribution, crustal thickness, and speed of crustal movement vary greatly between eastern and western China, the earthquake occurred in the east and west of the largest difference between the changes in this belt, that is, the north-south seismic zone - including from Ningxia through eastern Gansu, western Sichuan and up to Yunnan, all for the seismic intensity of the belt.

The macroscopic explanation is that "the Indian Ocean plate collides with the Eurasian plate from south to north, and the collision area arches over the Tibetan plateau." Professor Ni Sidao of the School of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) analyzed to a reporter at the end of the South Weekend that "the Tibetan Plateau is uplifted at the same time, but also at the same time to move to the northeast, squeezing the Sichuan Basin to the northeast of the go-slide, and the Wenchuan earthquake occurred in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau on the."

Ni Sidao said that the specific mechanism of this earthquake is extrusion, "at the beginning of the main extrusion, to the end of the earthquake may also have slip energy release." Ni Sidao said, this Wenchuan earthquake occurred in the southeast edge of the Tibetan Plateau, the center of the western Sichuan Longmen Mountains, located in Wenchuan - Maowen large fracture zone.

Wang Erqi, a researcher at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the Sichuan Basin is a relatively stable landmass. From historical records, although the main body of Longmenshan has not experienced any major earthquakes, Songpan to the north of it had a strong quake at the beginning of the last century.

Therefore, although the Longmenshan area does not appear to have strong tectonic activity, it may be in the process of accumulation of stress, accumulation to a certain extent, the crust will rupture, resulting in earthquakes. However, Wang Erqi also said, at present, we are not clear about the mechanism of this earthquake, do not know is caused by the extrusion of the crust, stretching or horizontal slip.

And on a smaller scale, Wenchuan is on the Sichuan Longmenshan seismic belt. Longmen Mountain is the new *** uplift plate and the original old Yunnan, Sichuan plate intersection, from this point of view, this place is an earthquake-prone area.

According to the "Catalogue of Strong Earthquakes in China" compiled by the Forecast Management Division of the Monitoring and Forecasting Department of the China Earthquake Administration in September 1999, there have been 18 earthquakes of magnitude 7 or greater in the Sichuan region ***, including eight earthquakes of magnitude 7 or greater since 1800. 1973 saw a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Fuhuo, Sichuan, and then three years later a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Songpan-Pingwu, Sichuan. -Pingwu 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

Chen Xuezhong, a researcher at the Institute of Geophysics of the China Earthquake Administration (CEA), analyzed the risk of earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher in Sichuan Province in 2002: "Sichuan has not been hit by any strong earthquakes for a long time, and in the words of the industry, it's called a lack of earthquakes, that is, a strong lack of earthquakes, and according to historical experience, the longer the lack of time, the greater the likelihood of future occurrences (strong earthquakes). This is a qualitative estimate."

Against this background, Chen Xuezhong studied the seismic risk of the Sichuan region, and found that from the historical empirical point of view, in the past, a few years before the occurrence of strong earthquakes of magnitude 7 or above in the Sichuan region, there is a large earthquake close to the magnitude of 8 or so around the occurrence of a large quake, according to this phenomenon, and then pushed back, the Kunlun Mountains in 2001, a magnitude of 8.1 earthquake has already occurred, and if the continuation of this law, a few years later, the Sichuan region This kind of earthquake will happen. Surface wave on the high-rise buildings have a greater impact China earthquake bureau earthquake prediction institute researcher Zhang Guomin said to this reporter, this Wenchuan earthquake is a shallow earthquake, its destruction is greater.

Earthquakes can be divided into shallow earthquakes, medium-source earthquakes and deep earthquakes according to the depth of the source. Shallow earthquakes mostly occur below the surface at a depth of 30 kilometers above the range, accounting for more than 70% of the total number of earthquakes, the release of seismic energy accounted for 85% of the total release of energy, is the main producer of seismic hazards, the greatest impact on human beings.

In seismology, the higher the magnitude of the general occurrence, the greater its destructive power. This Wenchuan earthquake 7.8 magnitude, the epicenter of the region's destructive intensity of about 10 degrees, will cause the collapse of houses, geological landslides and ground cracks and other disasters.

There is no detailed data on the quake and no seismic intensity distribution table reflecting the intensity of the damage (the USGS has published a rough seismic intensity distribution map on its website, which was derived without fieldwork). Chen Changlin of the China Earthquake Administration told reporters that the seismic intensity distribution table is estimated to be out in one to two days.

A team of relevant experts has already arrived in Wenchuan, and investigations have already begun. But fortunately, although the intensity of the earthquake is the same as the Tangshan earthquake 32 years ago, but now it seems that the damage should be less than the Tangshan earthquake.

The 1976 Tangshan earthquake, the largest natural disaster since the founding of the country, killed 240,000 people. The epicenter at that time was below the city center area, which is an urban straight down type of earthquake, so it caused a lot of damage.

And this Wenchuan earthquake, there is no larger city near the epicenter, the local population of a little more than 100,000 people, the distribution is relatively non-dense, including Wenchuan County, including about two hundred kilometers long, more than a dozen kilometers wide extreme seismic zone, most of the place.