Earthquake Hits China

Yes, I’m ok. I received several emails about the major earthquake that hit China today. I didn’t even know about it until I started receiving emails. I’ve read that it was felt in Hong Kong – about 40 miles North of where I’m living in Macau (SAR), China.

The epicenter was a little under 900 miles from me, which would be a little like living in Seattle, WA and having an earthquake hit in Sacramento, CA.

China’s a big country. I think it’s like 6% of the world’s land mass. (Don’t quote me on that).

Epicenter

The quake, whose centre is 92 km northwest of Chengdu, was felt in the Chinese cities of Chengdu and Chongqing, and as far as Beijing and Shanghai.Tremor also affects Bangkok and Taiwan.

Map of Wenchuan County
Epicenter of the earthquake. (Click for full size view).

News Report

A powerful earthquake struck a mountainous region of western China on Monday, disrupting telephone services, shaking buildings for hundreds of miles and causing at least five deaths and more than 100 injuries.

A smaller, related quake outside Beijing forced evacuations in many office towers as officials warned that other tremors could hit the capital later in the evening.

The larger, 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck near Wenchuan County in Sichuan Province at 2:28 p.m., according to China’s State Seismological Bureau.

The isolated county is home to China’s Wolong Nature Reserve, the country’s famous panda reserve, and is about 55 miles from Chengdu, the heavily populated capital of Sichuan.

Early reports suggested that Chengdu had been spared any significant damage. But officials were struggling to assess the full scope of the damage in Wenchuan County because of the breakdown in communications.