On May 12, 2008 at 14:28 local time (6:28 UTC), an M_W 8.0 earthquake struck the Sichuan Province, China. Millions of houses were destroyed and damaged, leaving approximately 4.5 million people homeless. At the time of this reporting, the government recorded that the earthquakes have caused human losses of about 69,100 (18,000 still missing) and 374,000 injured. Following the earthquake on May 27th, NCREE has joined a Taiwanese reconnaissance team to the affected region to collect information. It includes structural and geotechnical damages, as well as social impacts. This reconnaissance team could be the first to reach the damaged area nearest to the epicenter to observe the detailed damages on the schools, hospitals, residential buildings, landslides and bridges. From 27th May to 2nd June, the team has visited the area of Chengdu, Dujiangyan, Pongzhou, Shiaoyudong, Mianzhu, Zhuendou, Zhiulong, Wudu, Hanwang, Hsuanko, Yingshow (epicenter) and Highway 213. More than 5000 photos have been taken to document the damages observed in this catastrophe. We would like to take this opportunity to express our condolence for those who suffered from this earthquake. It is hoped that the information shared herein could help the community in making a safer society in the future.

For more detailed information, please check the following links:

• Reconnaissance Photos
• Reconnaissance Report (Chinese) and PowerPoints.
• Reconnaissance Report (English).

If you have comments or suggestions, please contact Dr. Jay Lin.
Phone: 886-2-66300587
Mobile: 886-939239420
Email: jaylin [@] ncree.org

For more information on recent earthquakes , please check this page.
(Written in Chinese)