2017 Jiuzhaigou earthquake facts for kids
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| UTC time | 2017-08-08 13:19:49 |
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| ISC event | 610873866 |
| USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
| Local date | 8 August 2017 |
| Local time | 21:19:49 CST (UTC+8) (USGS) |
| Duration | 15 seconds |
| Magnitude | Ms 7.0 (CENC) Mw 6.5 (USGS) |
| Depth | about 20 kilometres (CENC) 9 kilometres (USGS) |
| Epicenter | 33°11′35″N 103°51′18″E / 33.193°N 103.855°E Zhangzha Town, Jiuzhaigou County, Ngawa Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China |
| Areas affected | Sichuan Province, Gansu Province and Shaanxi Province |
| Max. intensity | VII (USGS) |
| Aftershocks | 1,741 (including 30 major aftershocks) |
| Casualties | 25 dead, 525 injured |
The 2017 Jiuzhaigou earthquake was a strong earthquake that happened on August 8, 2017. It struck in Zhangzha Town, which is in Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan Province, China. The earthquake was measured at a magnitude of 7.0. Sadly, it caused the deaths of at least 24 people in the area.
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What Was the Jiuzhaigou Earthquake?
The main earthquake began at 9:19 PM China Standard Time (CST) on August 8, 2017. Its center was in Zhangzha Town, Jiuzhaigou County. It had a magnitude of 7.0, which is very powerful. People felt the shaking in cities far away, like Lanzhou, Chengdu, and Xi'an.
Where Did the Earthquake Happen?
The earthquake's center was about 39 kilometers from the main town of Jiuzhaigou County. It was also 66 kilometers from Songpan County and 83 kilometers from Zhouqu County. The closest big city was Chengdu, which was about 285 kilometers away.
Why Do Earthquakes Happen Here?
Northern Sichuan is a place where the Earth's huge plates are always moving. The Tibetan Plateau is pushing against the Yangtze Plate. This creates a lot of pressure, forming cracks in the Earth's crust called faults.
Jiuzhaigou County is located in the Min Mountains. These mountains were formed where these faults meet. Another big earthquake happened nearby in 1879, about 65 kilometers to the east. Also, the very destructive 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which killed many thousands, happened to the south of Jiuzhaigou County.
How Did the Earthquake Affect the Area?
The China Earthquake Administration said that the earthquake was very strong. In the area where it started, the shaking could have been as high as level VIII on a special scale.
Right after the earthquake, all of Jiuzhaigou County lost electricity. People saw that some buildings had fallen down in the Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area. Staff there told news reporters that a house had collapsed and cracked. Local people quickly started helping to move others to safety.
How Did People Help?
The China Earthquake Administration quickly started a Level I emergency response. They later changed it to Level II. This meant they sent the army to the earthquake area to help with rescue efforts.
At 9:26 PM CST, the Health and Family Planning Commission of Sichuan Province began its own emergency plan. Medical teams were ready to go to the earthquake area within an hour. The Red Cross Society of China also got ready to help. Early the next day, China's State Council started a national Level II earthquake emergency response.
On August 9, a local security vehicle had a small accident with a bus. Three people from the bus were hurt and received medical care. By August 9, 40 people were very seriously injured. Seven of them were moved to bigger hospitals, including four to West China Hospital of Sichuan University. The others went to local hospitals.
People Who Were Hurt or Died
The Emergency Management Office of Ngawa Prefecture reported on August 9 that the earthquake had killed 19 people. It also injured 247 people, with 40 of them being very seriously hurt. The next day, the number of deaths increased to 20, and over 400 people were injured. Most of the people who were hurt or died were in Zhangzha Town, Jiuzhaigou County.
| CST date and time | Deaths | Injuries | Sources | References | ||
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| Serious injuries | Minor injuries | Total injuries | ||||
| 2017-08-08 21:19:46 | (main earthquake happened) | China Earthquake Networks Center (中国地震台网) |
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| 2017-08-08 23:39 | 1 | 4 | 4 | Chengdu Tourism Administration (成都市旅游局) |
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| 2017-08-08 23:58 | 5 | 63 | Emergency Management Office of the Jiuzhaigou County (九寨沟县应急办) |
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| 2017-08-09 02:08 | 5 | 88 | China Central Television (中国中央电视台) |
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| 2017-08-09 04:00 | 9 | 32 | 103 | 135 | Information Office of Ngawa Prefecture Government (阿坝州政府新闻办) |
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| 2017-08-09 05:00 | 9 | 164 | Emergency Management Office of Ngawa Prefecture Government (阿坝州人民政府应急管理办公室) |
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| 2017-08-09 08:10 | 12 | Ngawa Weibo (阿坝微博) |
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| 2017-08-09 08:58 | 12 | 28 | 147 | 175 | People's Daily (人民日报) |
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| 2017-08-09 09:30 | 13 | 175 | Information Office of Sichuan Province Government (四川省政府新闻办) |
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| 2017-08-09 13:10 | 19 | 40 | 207 | 247 | Emergency Management Office of Ngawa Prefecture Government (阿坝州人民政府应急管理办公室) |
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| 2017-08-10 12:00 | 20 | 18 | 413 | 431 | Emergency Management Office of the Jiuzhaigou County (九寨沟县应急办) |
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| 2017-08-11 19:00 | 23 | 45 | 448 | 493 | Emergency Management Office of Ngawa Prefecture Government (阿坝州人民政府应急管理办公室) |
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| *All the times are reporting times, so the reported casualties might possibly be different from the actual casualties. | ||||||
What Are Aftershocks?
After a big earthquake, smaller earthquakes often happen. These are called aftershocks. By August 10, 2017, there had been 1,741 aftershocks after the Jiuzhaigou earthquake. This included 30 larger ones. Some experts thought that some aftershocks might even reach a magnitude of 6.
The China Earthquake Networks Center reported these major aftershocks:
| # | CST date and time | Earthquake centre | Depth | magnitude | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordinate | Place | |||||
| Main | 2017-08-08 21:19:46 | 33°12′N 103°49′E / 33.20°N 103.82°E | Jiuzhaigou County, Ngawa Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China | 20 kilometres | 7.0 | |
| 1 | 2017-08-08 21:28:55 | 33°14′N 103°47′E / 33.24°N 103.78°E | 5 kilometres | 3.2 | ||
| 2 | 2017-08-08 21:41:34 | 33°11′N 103°51′E / 33.18°N 103.85°E | 9 kilometres | 3.3 | ||
| 3 | 2017-08-08 23:04:56 | 33°14′N 103°47′E / 33.24°N 103.79°E | 5 kilometres | 3.2 | ||
| 4 | 2017-08-08 23:49:18 | 33°17′N 103°47′E / 33.28°N 103.78°E | 9 kilometres | 3.0 | ||
| 5 | 2017-08-08 23:51:12 | 33°07′N 103°53′E / 33.11°N 103.88°E | 10 kilometres | 3.1 | ||
| 6 | 2017-08-09 00:35:17 | 33°08′N 103°51′E / 33.13°N 103.85°E | 20 kilometres | 3.2 | ||
| 7 | 2017-08-09 03:59:09 | 33°17′N 103°47′E / 33.29°N 103.79°E | 10 kilometres | 3.0 | ||
| 8 | 2017-08-09 05:16:02 | 33°18′N 103°46′E / 33.30°N 103.76°E | 10 kilometres | 3.6 | ||
| 9 | 2017-08-09 05:37:14 | 33°07′N 103°52′E / 33.12°N 103.87°E | 17 kilometres | 3.6 | ||
| 10 | 2017-08-09 05:41:09 | 33°08′N 103°50′E / 33.14°N 103.83°E | 10 kilometres | 3.3 | ||
| 11 | 2017-08-09 06:24:49 | 33°08′N 103°51′E / 33.14°N 103.85°E | 18 kilometres | 3.0 | ||
| 12 | 2017-08-09 06:49:03 | 33°07′N 103°53′E / 33.11°N 103.88°E | 18 kilometres | 3.2 | ||
| 13 | 2017-08-09 06:49:31 | 33°19′N 103°46′E / 33.31°N 103.77°E | 13 kilometres | 3.3 | ||
| 14 | 2017-08-09 08:10:09 | 33°07′N 103°52′E / 33.12°N 103.87°E | 23 kilometres | 3.7 | ||
| 15 | 2017-08-09 08:29:04 | 33°17′N 103°48′E / 33.28°N 103.80°E | 13 kilometres | 3.9 | ||
| 16 | 2017-08-09 09:22:14 | 33°10′N 103°51′E / 33.16°N 103.85°E | 19 kilometres | 3.8 | ||
| 17 | 2017-08-09 09:32:47 | 33°17′N 103°45′E / 33.28°N 103.75°E | 19 kilometres | 3.7 | ||
| 18 | 2017-08-09 10:17:02 | 33°10′N 103°52′E / 33.16°N 103.86°E | 26 kilometres | 4.8 | ||
| 19 | 2017-08-09 14:41:00 | 32°14′N 102°38′E / 32.23°N 102.63°E | Heishui County, Ngawa Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China | 18 kilometres | 2.9 | |
| 20 | 2017-08-09 20:03:03 | 33°10′N 103°52′E / 33.16°N 103.87°E | Jiuzhaigou County, Ngawa Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China | 24 kilometres | 3.1 | |
| 21 | 2017-08-10 02:30:50 | 33°09′N 103°52′E / 33.15°N 103.86°E | 26 kilometres | 3.1 | ||
| 22 | 2017-08-10 03:02:13 | 33°13′N 103°47′E / 33.22°N 103.79°E | 19 kilometres | 3.7 | ||
| 23 | 2017-08-10 03:06:09 | 33°08′N 103°52′E / 33.14°N 103.86°E | 24 kilometres | 3.0 | ||
| 24 | 2017-08-10 05:05:54 | 33°10′N 103°51′E / 33.16°N 103.85°E | 26 kilometres | 4.3 | ||
| 25 | 2017-08-10 09:54:02 | 33°10′N 103°51′E / 33.16°N 103.85°E | 27 kilometres | 3.2 | ||
| 26 | 2017-08-10 15:30:09 | 33°08′N 103°52′E / 33.14°N 103.86°E | 26 kilometres | 2.8 | ||
| 27 | 2017-08-10 17:38:31 | 33°16′N 103°46′E / 33.26°N 103.76°E | 19 kilometres | 3.0 | ||
| 28 | 2017-08-10 17:48:34 | 33°13′N 103°51′E / 33.22°N 103.85°E | 26 kilometres | 4.1 | ||
| 29 | 2017-08-11 08:05:09 | 33°10′N 103°52′E / 33.17°N 103.87°E | 25 kilometres | 3.0 | ||
| 30 | 2017-08-11 19:26:21 | 33°06′N 103°52′E / 33.10°N 103.87°E | 26 kilometres | 3.4 | ||
See also
In Spanish: Terremoto de Jiuzhaigou de 2017 para niños
