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FACTBOX - China's May 12 earthquake

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A chrysanthemum is seen in the smoke of burning offerings at the ruins of earthquake-hit Beichuan county, Sichuan Province, May 10, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Lee

A chrysanthemum is seen in the smoke of burning offerings at the ruins of earthquake-hit Beichuan county, Sichuan Province, May 10, 2009.

Credit: Reuters/Jason Lee

Tue May 12, 2009 7:16am IST

(Reuters) - China on Tuesday marks one year since an earthquake devastated parts of the country's southwest. Here are some facts about the quake and its aftermath.

* The 8.0-magnitude quake had its epicentre in Wenchuan county, Sichuan province. The quake was caused by tectonic faults rupturing and grinding for hundreds of kilometres along the Longmen Mountains.

* More than 80,000 people died, with thousands still officially listed as missing. The worst devastation was in Wenchuan, where nearly 24,000 died or are counted as missing -- about a fifth of its population -- and Beichuan county, where 20,000 of its 160,000 residents died or are missing.

* This was by far China's deadliest quake since the 1976 disaster in Tangshan, east of Beijing, which killed up to 300,000 people.

* Beijing has said it will channel 1 trillion yuan ($147 billion) to rebuilding quake-hit areas, much of it from bank loans and local coffers. Jiang Jufeng, governor of Sichuan province, has said 1.7 trillion yuan is needed for the task.

* China has already spent more than 360 billion yuan ($53 billion) on rebuilding quake-hit areas, an economic planning official, Mu Hong, said on Friday.

China will try to complete building homes, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure by the end of September 2010, one year ahead of its original schedule, said Mu.

* China says 5,335 schoolchildren died or remained missing from the earthquake, a much lower number than estimates compiled from news reports at the time and projected by some experts and critics.

* Many parents blame shoddy buildings for the deaths, pointing to apartments and government offices that survived while nearby schools fell.

(Sources: Reuters; Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, "Overall Analysis and Assessment of the Wenchuan Earthquake Disaster"; H.K. Miyamoto et. al. "Reconnaissance Report of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake")

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