The 2008 Sichuan earthquake occurred at 14:28:04.1 CST (06:28:04.1 UTC) on 12 May 2008,with its epicenter in Wenchuan County (Chinese:汶川县; Pinyin:Wènchuān Xiàn),Sichuan province of the People's Republic of China.It had a magnitude of 7.8 Ms according to the State Seismological Bureau of China and 7.9 Mw according to the United States Geological Survey.The epicenter was 90 kilometres (55 miles) west-northwest of Chengdu,the capital of Sichuan.The earthquake was felt as far away as Beijing and Shanghai,where office buildings swayed with the tremor.The earthquake was also felt in Pakistan,Thailand,and Vietnam.
Official figures state that 13,042 are confirmed dead,and 24,549 injured.These figures are likely to rise sharply,as a clearer picture emerges.Reports suggest that as many as 100,000 are missing in cities close to the epicentre.It was the deadliest and strongest earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake,which killed approximately 250,000 people.