2014 Ludian earthquake

2014 Ludian earthquake

Location of Yunnan Province in China
A map of the Ludian earthquake. Size of red circles represent number of deceased per county.
Date	3 August 2014
Origin time	08:03:13 UTC
Magnitude	6.5 ML[1][2][3][4][5] 6.1 Mw[6]
Depth	10.0 km (6.2 mi)
Epicenter	27°14′42″N 103°25′37″E / 27.245°N 103.427°E / 27.245; 103.427Coordinates: 27°14′42″N 103°25′37″E / 27.245°N 103.427°E / 27.245; 103.427
Areas affected	Yunnan, China Ludian County Huize County Qiaojia County
Total damage	$6 billion[7]
Max. intensity	VIII (Severe)[8][9]
Casualties	617 dead (As of 8 August 7:00 UTC) [10] [11][12][13][14] 3,143 injured (As of 8 August 7:00 UTC) [7][10] 112 missing (As of 8 August 7:00 UTC) [10][15]

The 2014 Ludian earthquake struck Ludian County, Yunnan, China, with a moment magnitude of 6.1 on 3 August.^[16] The earthquake killed at least 617 people, injuring at least 2,400 others.^[17][18] As of 5 August 2014, 112 people remain missing.^[19] Over 12,000 houses collapsed and 30,000 were damaged.^[20] According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake occurred 29 km (18 mi) WSW of Zhaotong city at 16:03 local time (08:03 UTC).^{[21][22][23][24]}

Tectonic setting

The Ludian earthquake occurred at 16:03, Beijing time (08:03 UTC), on 3 August 2014. American geological surveys indicated that the epicenter was 29 km (18 mi) WSW of Zhaotong city at a depth of 10.0 km (6.2 mi),^[25] in the quake-prone province of Yunnan in southwestern China, about 18 km (11 mi) from Zhaotong. It was especially felt in the province of Yunnan, and less in the provinces of Guizhou and Sichuan.^[26]

ShakeMap of the earthquake from the United States Geological Survey.

The magnitude of the earthquake was 6.1 on the moment magnitude scale,^[16] with an intensity of up to VII (Very strong) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The quake was the result of a strike-slip fault, whose fault plane has a southwest-northeast strike.^[27]

Seismicity in this region of southeast Asia is the direct result of the orogenic activity of the Himalayan mountain belt. Due to the complex interaction between the Eurasian Plate and Indo-Australian Plate from Afghanistan in the west to Burma and China in the east, many shallow sub-surface faults are present in both southwest China and neighbouring Myanmar.

Recent earthquakes

This particular part of Yunnan Province was struck by the M_w 6.3 Burma earthquake in 2003.^[28] Similar events have occurred in recent years due to strike-slip faulting in the nearby vicinity, such as the 2006 Yunnan earthquake of magnitude 5.0, which killed 19 people,^[29] the largest of recent times, the M_w 7.9 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which killed over 69,000 people, the M_w 6.9 2011 Shan earthquake,^[30] and more recently, the 2012 Yunnan earthquakes, which was the result of reverse faulting and not strike-slip faulting like the Ludian earthquake,^[31] killing 81 people and injuring 821 others.^[32]

Damage and casualties

Zhoujiaping (周家坪村), after the earthquake

Longtoushan Town(龙头山镇) after the earthquake.

The earthquake caused significant damage in the immediate vicinity of the epicenter, principally in the city of Zhaotong, where power outages and significant structural damage were reported.^[33] Chinese authorities announced that the quake left at least 391 dead, and over 1,801 injured.^[34][35]

According to the South China Morning Post, the tremor was felt in nearby towns, including the capital of Yunnan, Kunming, also in Chongqing, Leshan and Chengdu in the neighboring province of Sichuan.^[36] Road access to Longquan Village (龙泉村) of Longtoushan Town (龙头山镇), Ludian County, was blocked, where buildings collapsed.^[37] In Ludian, it was reported that around 12,000 homes had collapsed, many of them being aged brick structures.^[38]

Aftershock

Aftershock: 21 August 6:00 a.m. until 9 UTC in times or more (more than nine times more than M 3.0) up by China Seismic Bureau). The largest aftershock earthquake M 4.2.^[39]

Response and relief

Mourning held in Baogunao (包谷垴乡) for victims in Ludian earthquake on 8 August 2014.

The Chinese government sent a 30-man team to the epicentre region immediately after the earthquake struck, as well as 2,000 tents, 3,000 folding beds, 3,000 quilts, and 3,000 coats to provide shelter for the displaced and homeless.^[33] The majority of the injured have been transported to safe areas.^[34]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who flew to the epicenter on the morning of 4 August,^[40][41] sent a joint working group to investigate and assist the locals in the rescue.^[42]

Donation

As of 17:00 (UTC+8) on 15 August 2014, Yunnan Province received 536 million Yuan in donated money and 50 million Yuan in donated goods.^[43]

Government and organizations

Company

Personal

See also

• List of earthquakes in China
• List of earthquakes in 2014

References

External links

Media related to Yunnan at Wikimedia Commons