12th May 2008, an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 struck northwestern Wenchuan, Sichuan province of China, this event has been called both the Great Sichuan Earthquake and the Wenchuan Earthquake . It is the most devastating earthquake in China in more than three decades. Sichuan Province violently shook central China.The quake has left over 70,000 people dead with more still missing. This was the deadliest and strongest earthquake in China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake.
Response to the Wenchuan Earthquake was immediate, with Premier Wen Jiabao flying to Chengdu within 90 minutes, and with tens of thousands of rescue personnel, including brigades from the People's Liberation Army moving into action within 24 hours. Rescue efforts were extremely difficult from the outset, owing to the difficult terrain, and to extensive damage to the basic infrastructure. All roads connecting to Wenchuan Xian had been cut, and more than 80% of the structures in Beichuan Xian had collapsed. Half of all wireless communications in Sichuan Province were knocked out, including 2,300 base stations owned by China Mobile, and 700 towers owned by China Unicom. Entire counties in the impact zone could not be reached by either wireless or landline systems.
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