The “Great Wenchuan Earthquake” hit China on May 12, 2008, leaving behind a lot of sorrow. Having an 8 magnitude, the quake killed over 69,000 people and injured more than 374,000. Furthermore, more than 18,000 people were listed as missing.
Not everybody knows that an earthquake can produce aftershocks 13 years after it occurred, but that’s what happened this Wednesday in Wenchuan county, the Sichuan Province of Southwest China, according to Global Times.
A 4.8 magnitude aftershock
The supposed aftershock of the devastating 2008 earthquake had a magnitude of only 4.8, which, although it’s unlikely to produce significant damage, it’s still strong enough to get you through a frightening experience. No casualties were reported this time. The China Earthquake Networks Center brought a series of useful information about the new earthquake. The jolt occurred late in the evening, at 11:36, waking up a lot of Chinese residents. The focal depth was 15 kilometres.
Wang Yunsheng, who is a professor from the Chengdu University of Technology, explained to Chinese media Fengmian news that the epicentre of the powerful earthquake from 2008 that hit China tends to expand southwest. He also confirmed that the quake that hit Wenchuan yesterday was an aftershock of that historic earthquake.
But as any person wonders how on Earth can it be possible for an earthquake to last 13 years, Sun Shihong, who’s a researcher of China Earthquake Networks Center, declared for the Global Times that it’s indeed possible as long as the undulating activities of the earthquake in one place have been through an ongoing trend.
At its time back in 2008, the “Great Wenchuan Earthquake” produced total damage of $150 billion, judging by the dollar’s value from thirteen years ago. According to Wikipedia, the earthquake had over 42,000 aftershocks, but of course, most of them were barely noticeable.
