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Our 2008, moments to remember
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-12-25 13:41

China hit by deadliest quake in 32 years

At 14:28 Beijing time (06:28 GMT), May 12, 2008, an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province in southwestern China.

It left more than 69,000 people dead and 374,000 injured. Another 18,000 are still listed as missing and millions were left homeless.

More than 31,000 aftershocks have been reported since, with the strongest measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale.

The May 12 disaster is the deadliest earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which killed at least 240,000 people, and the strongest since the 1950 Chayu earthquake in the country, which registered at 8.5 on the Richter magnitude scale.


Three-year-old boy Lang Zheng (C) salutes rescuers after he was pulled from debris a day after earthquake in Beichuan, Sichuan province, May 13, 2008. [CFP]