2011 Yunnan earthquake
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Yunnan earthquake was a 5.4 magnitude earthquake that occurred on 10 March 2011 at 12:58 CST, with its epicenter in Yingjiang County
, Yunnan
, People's Republic of China
, near the Burmese border. A total of 26 people died and 313 were injured with 133 in serious condition. China's Xinhua reports that up to seven aftershocks, measuring up to a magnitude of 4.7, followed the initial quake, which caused a total of 127,000 people to be evacuated to nearby shelters. It joined over 1,000 other minor tremors that affected the region in the two preceding months. Following damage surveys, officials reported that 1,039 buildings were destroyed and 4,994 more were seriously damaged. The earthquake occurred one day before a much larger earthquake struck Japan
that also formed a tsunami.
. The state news agency reports that an estimate of 1,200 houses and apartments collapsed and that around 17,500 were severely damaged. The surrounding area also suffered through power outages caused by the quake and several aftershocks. It is not known if there were any casualties or damage in Burma. Although there was a power outage telecommunications continued to work after the earthquake. Close to 127,100 people were evacuated from Yingjiang County following the quake, which affected a total of 344,600 people.
China Central Television
showed damaged buildings with debris around as police officers directed traffic on a chaotic street. A local reported the extent of the damage to the BBC, saying, "[half] of a supermarket building had collapsed. Three other big buildings nearby were also badly destroyed", and that "the walls of almost all the houses had collapsed."
Small tremors had been occurring in this region for two months and caused damage to many local buildings. A seismologist explained that the strength of this earthquake was enough to let damaged buildings collapse.
allocated 55 million yuan to relief efforts on 11 March while the Ministry of Finance gave 50 million yuan for infrastructure repair. The earthquake forced the delay of a planned 180,000-kW hydroelectricity
project in the Nujiang River Valley.
Yingjiang County
Yingjiang County is a county in Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, southwestern China.- Geography :Yingjiang county has a border of 214.6 km with Kachin State, Myanmar in the west. Danzha River and Binglangjiang River meet each other near Jiucheng and change the name to Dayingjiang...
, Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
, People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, near the Burmese border. A total of 26 people died and 313 were injured with 133 in serious condition. China's Xinhua reports that up to seven aftershocks, measuring up to a magnitude of 4.7, followed the initial quake, which caused a total of 127,000 people to be evacuated to nearby shelters. It joined over 1,000 other minor tremors that affected the region in the two preceding months. Following damage surveys, officials reported that 1,039 buildings were destroyed and 4,994 more were seriously damaged. The earthquake occurred one day before a much larger earthquake struck Japan
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
that also formed a tsunami.
Damage and casualties
The epicenter was 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the center of the county, which has a population of more than 270,000 people and is home to several of China's ethnic minoritiesEthnic minorities in China
Ethnic minorities in China are the non-Han Chinese population in the People's Republic of China. The People's Republic of China officially recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within China in addition to the Han majority. As of 2010, the combined population of officially recognised minority...
. The state news agency reports that an estimate of 1,200 houses and apartments collapsed and that around 17,500 were severely damaged. The surrounding area also suffered through power outages caused by the quake and several aftershocks. It is not known if there were any casualties or damage in Burma. Although there was a power outage telecommunications continued to work after the earthquake. Close to 127,100 people were evacuated from Yingjiang County following the quake, which affected a total of 344,600 people.
China Central Television
China Central Television
China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV, is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China. CCTV has a network of 19 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers...
showed damaged buildings with debris around as police officers directed traffic on a chaotic street. A local reported the extent of the damage to the BBC, saying, "[half] of a supermarket building had collapsed. Three other big buildings nearby were also badly destroyed", and that "the walls of almost all the houses had collapsed."
Small tremors had been occurring in this region for two months and caused damage to many local buildings. A seismologist explained that the strength of this earthquake was enough to let damaged buildings collapse.
Reaction
The Chinese media reported that 5,000 tents, 10,000 quilts and nearly 1,000 troops were being sent to the area to aid the rescue efforts. The Macao Red Cross also offered 200,000 RMB as a relief fund for the earthquake. Xinhua has described the area as a "Quake Prone belt" as there have been a thousand tremors in the area in recent months. There were multiple aftershocks as rescue efforts got underway by firefighters and other rescuers. The Chinese governmentGovernment of the People's Republic of China
All power within the government of the People's Republic of China is divided among three bodies: the People's Republic of China, State Council, and the People's Liberation Army . This article is concerned with the formal structure of the state, its departments and their responsibilities...
allocated 55 million yuan to relief efforts on 11 March while the Ministry of Finance gave 50 million yuan for infrastructure repair. The earthquake forced the delay of a planned 180,000-kW hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
project in the Nujiang River Valley.