國家地理:Wenchuan Earthquake 汶川大地震

On Monday, an earthquake in China measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale occurred along a fault where south Asia pushes against the Eurasian Landmass, smashing the Sichuan Plain into mountains, leading to the Tibetan highlands.
In 1989, the Loma Prieta Earthquake shook the San Francisco and Monterey Bay regions. This major earthquake caused dozens of deaths, thousands of injuries, and an estimated 6 billion dollars in property damage. It was the largest earthquake to occur on the San Andreas Fault since the great San Francisco earthquake in April 1906.
The Loma Prieta quake was similar to Tuesday’s earthquake in China in depth, but its magnitude was just 7.1 on the Richter scale, compared to the Sichuan quake at 7.9.
Seismology experts in Japan also compared the earthquake to the Kobe quake of 1995 in Japan, in which more than 5,000 were killed.
"Because earthquake occurred in shallow that is about 10 kilometers beneath the ground, so the damage is usually very strong and devastating. If you remember the Kobe earthquake in 1995, this is, in a sense, in similar type, because earthquake is shallow and right beneath the land and population area."
The professor also warned that aftershocks could cause further damage in the region of the quake. USGS seismologists warn that aftershocks from this earthquake could be felt up to 16 miles from the epicenter and could last for months.