2010 Yushu earthquake
| 2010 Yushu earthquake | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| date | April 13, 2010 | ||
| Time | 23:49:37 | ||
| intensity | X on the MM scale | ||
| Magnitude | 6.9 M W | ||
| depth | 17 km | ||
| epicenter |
33 ° 16 '16 " N , 96 ° 37' 44" E
(240 km NNW of Chengguan , 1905 km WSW of Beijing)
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| country | People's Republic of China | ||
| Affected places | |||
| dead | > 2698 | ||
| Injured | > 12300 | ||
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The 2010 Yushu earthquake was a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 M w in the Yushu Autonomous Region of the Tibetans in Qinghai Province on April 13, 2010. The earthquake occurred at 23:49:47 UTC (7:49: 47 a.m. local time on April 14, 2010).
The epicenter of the earthquake was only 31.5 km northwest of the district capital Gyêgu (Jiegu / Jyekundo), 240 km north-northwest of the eastern Tibetan community of Chengguan and 1905 km west-southwest of Beijing. The center of the quake was about seventeen kilometers deep. The Chinese seismologists gave the magnitude as 7.1 and the depth of the hypocenter as 33 km. In the five days since the earthquake, numerous other aftershocks were measured, with all but one of magnitude 6.3 being below 5.0 M w .
According to final reports dated May 31, 2010, the number of victims was 2,698 dead and 270 missing. More than 12,135 were injured among the affected population; 1,434 were seriously injured.
The epicenter of the quake was in the city of Yushu in a sparsely populated, remote and mountainous area of the district near the border with the Tibet Autonomous Region , but in relatively close proximity to the largest town and settlement center of this region. The earthquake region extends at an average altitude of 4,000 m above sea level , while the large municipality of Gyêgu, which is 80–90% destroyed, extends to an average of 3,800 m.
At the end of April 2010 it was announced that the city would be rebuilt as an "Ecotourist City" within three years with funds from the central government. To this end, the State Council provided a sum of over 10 billion yuan by the end of 2010 for the first reconstruction phase, which provides for accompanying supply measures with temporary housing. In total, around three times the amount is planned.
Tectonic overview
The earthquake of April 13, 2010 in the south of Qinghai Province occurred due to leaf displacement in the tectonically complex region of the eastern highlands of Tibet . The epicenter was a few hundred kilometers north of the converging plate boundary of the Indian and Eurasian plates , at which the Indian plate pushes against the Eurasian plate northwards at a relative speed of about 46 mm per year. This convergence leads to the uplift of the Himalayas at a rate of about 10 mm annually and the highlands of Tibet, which forms an extremely wide region of thickened and uplifted crust and reaches an altitude of up to 5000 m above sea level.
In the region of the April 13th earthquake, the highlands expand and slide east-southeast, within the larger area that generally converges in a north-south direction. Due to the location, depth and momentum of the event, the earthquake likely reflects an interplay between these main tectonic forces, which is dominated at this point by a south-eastward shift. The eastward movement of the highlands of Tibet in relation to Eurasia to the north is partly taken up by the large intra-continental leaf shifts in Altun and Kunlun . Several major historical earthquake events have occurred at the Kunlun Fault, which runs east-west about 300 km north of the April 13 earthquake.
The April 13th Yushu earthquake is one of the largest documented earthquakes within a few hundred kilometers. A nearby earthquake reached a magnitude of around 6.5 and resulted in the deaths of over 300 people. The Sichuan earthquake of May 12, 2008 with a magnitude of M w 7.9 had its center on the edge of the highlands of Tibet, in contrast to the Yushu earthquake of April 13, 2010, which occurred in the center of the highlands.
Effects
According to the PAGER analysis by the USGS , the intensity in the center of the earthquake reached level X ( destructive ) on the modified Mercalli scale .
Web links
- Some important remarks on reporting about Yushu and the earthquake in some German media Information page on the quality of reporting in western media
- Yushu Earthquake Relief Updated earthquake information and relief efforts, website of Plateauperspectives, an international non-profit organization based in Xining and Yushu.
- Die Zeit : More than 2000 earthquake deaths suspected in China , April 19, 2010.
- [1] Many photos from Gyêgu, taken by a Tibetan monk.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b Magnitude 6.9 - SOUTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA ( English ) United States Geological Survey . April 13, 2010. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
- ↑ a b About 400 dead, 10,000 injured in 7.1-magnitude quake in China's Qinghai (English) , Xinhua. April 14, 2010.
- ↑ Xinhua : NW China's quake-jolted Yushu records 1,206 aftershocks ( Memento of the original from March 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 19, 2010.
- ↑ People's Daily Online: China puts final death toll from Qinghai quake at 2,698
- ↑ Xinhua : Death toll rises to 2.039 in NW China quake ( Memento of the original from April 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 20, 2010.
- ↑ Michael Bristow: China earthquake kills hundreds in Qinghai (English) . In: BBC World , British Broadcasting Corporation , April 14, 2010.
- ↑ Yushu Earthquake Relief: Yushu Update Information as of April 16, 12:24 am local time 4/16 ( memento of the original from April 21, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on April 16, 2010)
- ↑ China Fact Tours: The Post-Seismic Yushu - An Eco-Tourism City To Be ( Memento of the original from October 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 26, 2010. - China Briefing: State Council Notice Supporting Post-Earthquake Reconstruction in Yushu , May 31, 2010
- ↑ China Daily : Yushu reconstruction to be finished in 3 yrs .
- ^ Chinese Government's Official Web Portal: China to start Yushu quake reconstruction
- ↑ a b c Magnitude 6.9 - SOUTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA Earthquake Summary ( English ) United States Geological Survey . April 14, 2010. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
