The Sichuan Earthquake, China.

The Basics. Date: May 12 th, Location: Sichuan (Province of China.) Magnitude: 8.5 on Richter Scale. Sichuan, China.

Causes of the Earthquake. Plate tectonics is a scientific theory which describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere. The earthquake of China was caused by the collision of the Indian Plate onto the Eurasian Plate and its northward push. This caused many places in China to feel the earthquake, including Beijing which is over 1500km from Sichuan! The Sichuan Province is a very active tectonic area, as is the entire West Coast of the United States.

The Social Effects. The earthquake made many people paranoid, making them move away from Sichuan in fear of another earthquake. Many people are now mentally, psychologically and emotionally damaged due to some people seeing their own family members die, and some still don’t know what happened to their family members, though they are presumably dead. Due to this earthquake, social development also suffered. Many people lost their homes, and most of their belongings. Many people who grew up there and lived there all of their lives have now lost their lives in some senses. People were trapped under the rubble, unable to get out for in some cases days before they were rescued. 69,197 confirmed dead, 374,176 injured, with 18,222 listed as missing and over 4 million people left homeless. (Figures from July 21 st 2008.)

Physical Effects. The Sichuan Earthquake changed the landscape in many ways, it caused land slides, roads were torn apart and most buildings collapsed. Submerged under the mud slides were hundreds of vehicles, with mostly workers trapped inside. Most of them died, as the mudslides made the Chinese army unable to get to them. Schools were destroyed, with kids still inside with the poor quality of buildings being to blame for the child death toll. Mudslide near the epicentre of the earthquake.

Economic Effects. The Sichuan caused a total of $20,000,000,000 (20 Billion Dollars) or £13,002,000,000 (13.2 Billion pounds) worth of damage. Some estimates of the economic loss run higher than $75,000,000,000 (75 Billion dollars). On 6 November 2008, the central government announced that it will spend 1 trillion Yuan (about $146.5 billion) over the next three years to rebuild areas ravaged by the earthquake.

Human Responses. President Hu Jintao announced that the disaster response would be rapid. Though he said that, his paranoia led him to decide that he didn’t want any help from other countries as he thought that they may spy on him and see how his people are really treated. He then realised that his country needed the extra help. The Chinese Government then accepted the aid of the Tzu Chi Foundation from Taiwan late on May 13. Tzu Chi was the first force from outside the People's Republic of China to join the rescue effort. On May 16, rescue groups from South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Russia and Taiwan arrived to join the rescue effort. The United States shared some of its satellite images of the quake-stricken areas with Chinese authorities. During the weekend, the US sent into China two U.S. Air Force C-17's carrying supplies, which included tents and generators. Xinhua reported 135,000 Chinese troops and medics were involved in the rescue effort across 58 counties and cities.

Solutions to Earthquakes. We can not stop earthquakes from happening, though we can reduce the effects by mainly being prepared. 1.Install adequate warning systems. This will help contact emergency services, the government and the public quicker. 2. Have a unified plan of action. Having a plan just in case such an event occurs helps people react immediately. Having a plan also helps people work together more efficiently as they should know what they’re doing. 3. Provide info before the earthquake strikes. The use of newspapers, TV and radio can inform people quickly before the earthquake strikes. The information should provide what precautions to take (safety), how to secure your belongings from damage, and what to do in such an event. 4. Have emergency services on hand. Having Emergency services on hand increases the speed of which they will get to the people in need of help decreasing the number of deaths. 5. Buildings to be built differently. Buildings, such as large skyscrapers, etc. Should need to have the base sway with the earth preventing them from collapsing during earthquakes (base isolation).

Other Interesting Info regarding Earthquakes. The most recent earthquake: Chile, 27 th February The most powerful earthquakes: 23/01/1556 Chihli, China, magintude of 9. 26/02/1700 Cascadia, North America, magnitude of 9. 22/05/1960, Chile, magnitude of , Alaska, America, magnitude of 9.2 The most devastating Earthquake of all time: The most devastating earthquake ever is the earthquake of Chihli, China, Killing 850,000 people with an extraordinary magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale. Earthquakes are rare the UK, but they do happen, especially in recent years. The largest in the UK being on the 7 th of June 1930, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale. Earthquakes can also cause Tsunami’s. Earthquakes happen when plates move, so when the sea shares the same plate, it causes energy to go throughout the water causing a Tsunami, they can either die down or hit land.