The Wenchuan Earthquake in Sichuan Province
At 14:28 on May 12, 2008, an earthquake of a magnitude 8.0 hit Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province. It was the most destructive in China since the 1950s, affecting the widest areas and posing the greatest difficulties for rescue. There were more than 30,000 aftershocks, impacting neighboring Gansu, Shaanxi and Chongqing and six other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. The disaster-hit areas extended over 500,000 square km and 46.25 million people were affected.
The earthquake took 69,227 lives, and left 17,923 missing. More than 15 million people had to be evacuated. The deadly disaster left thousands of homes in ruins, destroyed massive infrastructure, caused huge industrial and agricultural production losses, and severely damaged the eco-environment. The direct losses were no less than 845 billion yuan. The quake also caused unprecedented consequent earth collapses, landslides, mud-rock flows, and barrier lakes.
In the face of the worst ever disaster, the CPC led the whole country and the army in a most efficient rescue and relief operation. It was the widest in scope of mobilization and had the greatest scale of input in China's history. The authorities tried their best to save as many lives as possible and keep losses to the minimum. The entire nation demonstrated a spirit that can be generalized as "uniting as one, persevering in surmounting difficulties, putting people first, and acting in a planned and rational way."
The international community also offered sincere sympathy and provided aid and support of various kinds, expressing humanity and friendship toward the Chinese people.
Reconstruction began quickly in the aftermath of the earthquake. It followed the principles of people-first, respecting nature, and a holistic science-based approach, and brought rejuvenation to the worst-hit regions.
四川汶川特大地震
2008年5月12日14时28分，四川省汶川县（北纬31度，东经103.4度）发生地震。这是新中国成立以来破坏性最强、波及范围最广、救灾难度最大的一次地震，震级达里氏8级，最大烈度达11度，余震3万多次，涉及四川、甘肃、陕西、重庆等10个省、区、市。地震灾区总面积约50万平方公里、受灾群众4625万多人，其中极重灾区、重灾区面积13万平方公里，造成69227人遇难、17923人失踪，1510万受灾群众需紧急转移安置。地震灾区房屋大量倒塌损坏，基础设施大面积损毁，工农业生产遭受重大损失，生态环境遭到严重破坏，直接经济损失8451亿多元。地震引发的崩塌、滑坡、泥石流、堰塞湖等次生灾害举世罕见。
面对空前惨烈的灾难，中国共产党团结带领全国军民，组织开展了中国历史上救援速度最快、动员范围最广、投入力量最大的抗震救灾斗争，最大限度地挽救了受灾群众生命，最大限度地减低了灾害造成的损失，夺取了抗震救灾斗争重大胜利，凝聚起“万众一心、众志成城，不畏艰险、百折不挠，以人为本、尊重科学”的抗震救灾精神。在抗震救灾中，国际社会表达真诚同情和慰问，提供了各种形式的支持和援助，充分体现出崇高的人道主义精神和对中国人民的友好情谊。
灾后，中国按照以人为本、尊重自然、统筹兼顾、科学重建的原则，迅速组织开展恢复重建工作。在中共中央坚强领导下，全国人民大力支援，灾区人民艰苦奋斗，灾后恢复重建发展取得重大成就。
