Situation before the Wenchuan earthquake Chuan TANG Chengdu University of Technology

The Wenchuan earthquake occurred between the easternmost margin of the Tibetan plateau and the northwestern edge of the Sichuan Basin. Location and landform

Longmen Shan Sichuan Basin The Longmen Shan Mountains define a steep topographic escarpment in southwestern China, rising to mean elevations greater than 4000 m from ~500 m in the basin over less than 100 km, with peak elevations locally reaching N6000 m. The region is deeply dissected by the Min, Fu, Jin and Bailong Rivers that drain directly into the Sichuan Basin.

Longmen Shan: Eastern Marginal mountain of Tibetan Plateau and Western Marginal mountain of Sichuan Basin Longmen ShanTibetan Plateau Sichuan Basin

An overview of the disaster areas ◆ The Wenchuan earthquake affected 417 counties (cities, districts) of 10 provinces such as Sichuan, Gansu, Shanxi,Chongqing, Yunnan Provinces, etc., covering approximately a total area of 500,000 km 2. ◆ The extremely damaged areas of Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi Provinces, covering a total area of 132,000 km 2.,involving 14,565 villages in 1,271 towns and townships, with a total population of million (2007). ◆ People of urban income and rural income of 13,050 yuan/year, 3,533 yuan/year, respectively.

Economy Agriculture Industry (Dongfang Electric Co. Ltd) Tourism (world cultural and natural heritage sites and natural reserves) Mining (non-ferrous metals, non-metallic mineral resources) Hydro-electrical power (plenty of water energy)

Agriculture

Industry: the Dongfang Steam Turbine Works The annual value of production was over 1 billion Euro. Now 2 billion Euro.

Tourism Jiuzhaigou: World Natural Heritage

Huanglong

Dujiangyan ancient irrigation works An ancient technological wonder built in 250 B.C., which is one of the World Cultural Heritage sites.

Minority and culture

Panda

Hydro-electrical power 紫坪铺 Zipingpu dam Zipingpu Dam ( 紫坪铺水利枢纽 ) is an embankment dam on the Min River near the city of Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province in southwest China. It consists of four generators with a total generating capacity of 760 MW. Construction began in 2001 and was finished late