Satellite Images of China Earthquake

By Nancy Atkinson - May 16, 2008 at 11:49 AM UTC | Planetary Science
china-after-earthquake.jpg

Some of the first satellite images have been released of areas in China hit by the 7.9 magnitude earthquake on May 12, 2008. This image shows Beichuan, one of the worst-hit areas in Sichuan Province of southwest China. The pictures reveal a large forest, a school and clusters of residential houses along a river that has been destroyed out by the quake. A road along the river was also severely damaged. The images were taken by Taiwan's FORMOSAT-2 satellite. A "before" image is also available, taken in two years ago in May of 2006:

The pictures are expected to be used as references in China's efforts in searching and rescuing people still missing in Sichuan.

Harry Chang, a professor of National Taiwan Normal University said the images have been given to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Chang said that in Beichuan, the earthquake also caused landslides, evident in the top photo, covering some 1,500 hectares (3,705 acres), which had blocked the river.

"Accordingly, several new lakes have been formed. What is dangerous is that should the new lakes burst, the residents living in the low-lying areas of the river would be in danger," he said.

Chang also warned of mudslides caused by rain, saying "it would make the rescue work more difficult." As of May 15, officials estimated the death toll could reach 50,000.

Monday's earthquake began at 2:28 p.m. local time (06:28 UTC). The quake was felt throughout much of China, as well as parts of Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. This elevation map above shows the region where the earthquake struck. Green indicates the lowest elevations, and beige the highest. The data for this map were collected by NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) in 2000. Overlain onto the map are earthquake magnitude indicators. The earthquake’s epicenter was approximately 90 kilometers (55 miles) west-northwest of the city of Chengdu. Smaller magnitude events occurred northeast of the epicenter, and generally followed the edge of the Longmen Shan mountain range.

Original News Sources:

The China Post

, NASA Earth Observatory

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com