Wenchuan Earthquake
Further information: 2008 Sichuan earthquakeOn May 12, 2008, the area was the site of the epicentre and one of the most severely hit areas of the great Sichuan, or Wenchuan, earthquake (汶川地震). In Chinese, the earthquake is named after the county, making its name resonate across the nation. In the county, 15,941 people were dead, 34,583 injured, and 7,474 still missing as of June 6, 2008.
Wenchuan was at the center of one of two areas where seismic intensity were the highest at XI liedu during this earthquake. Since the earthquake, the central government has increased fortification intensity for seismic design for this area from VII to VIII.
Read more about this topic: Wenchuan County
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“Through the din and desultoriness of noon, even in the most Oriental city, is seen the fresh and primitive and savage nature, in which Scythians and Ethiopians and Indians dwell. What is echo, what are light and shade, day and night, ocean and stars, earthquake and eclipse, there? The works of man are everywhere swallowed up in the immensity of nature. The AEgean Sea is but Lake Huron still to the Indian.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)