5. 12 Wenchuan earthquake occurred on Monday, May 28th, 2008 (UTC+8) 14:28:04 Beijing time. According to the data from the Seismological Bureau of the People's Republic of China, the magnitude of seismic surface wave reaches 8.0Ms on the Richter scale, and the moment magnitude is 8.3Mw (according to the data of the US Geological Survey, the moment magnitude).
The seismic wave of this earthquake has been confirmed to circle the earth six times. The earthquake affected more than half of China and many countries and regions in Asia, and it was felt in Liaoning in the north, Shanghai in the east, Hongkong, Macau, Thailand and Vietnam in the south and Pakistan in the west.
Extended data
Causes of Wenchuan earthquake:
As the Indian Ocean plate moves northward at a speed of about 15cm per year, the Eurasian plate is compressed and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau rises rapidly. In addition, due to the influence of gravity, the eastern side of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is gradually sinking along the Longmen Mountain, and it is facing the tenacious resistance of the Sichuan Basin, leading to the long-term accumulation of tectonic stress energy. Finally, the pressure in Longmen Mountain, Beichuan and Yingxiu was suddenly released.
It caused thrust, dextral and compressional fault earthquakes. The Sichuan earthquake occurred in the brittle-ductile transition zone of the crust, with the focal depth of 10 ~ 20km, close to the surface and lasting for a long time (about 2 minutes), so it was extremely destructive and had a strong impact.
Baidu Encyclopedia -5. 12 Wenchuan Earthquake