Eaerthquake in China

I guess I dont know anything about the world since I came to Tasmania. It feels like a prison,like I have said I know no more anything which is happening around the world. Recently I heard from my mum there was a massive earth quake in China that kill more than 50,000 people was killed.

Earth Quake Detail

The earthquake 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 in Wenchuan County , Ngawa Prefecture, 75 km west/northwest of Chengdu, with its main tremor so far occurring at 14:28:01.42 CST (06:28:01.42 UTC), on Monday 12 May 2008.
Early reports of the earthquake's magnitude ranged from 7.5 to 8.0. Fifty-two major aftershocks, ranging in magnitude from 4.4 to 6.0, were recorded within 72 hours of the main tremor.Preliminary rupture models of the earthquake indicated displacement of up to 9 meters along a fault approximately 240 km long by 20 km deep. The earthquake generated deformations of the surface greater than 3 meters and increased the stress (and probability of occurrence of future events) at the northeastern and southwestern ends of the fault.
Office workers in Chengdu reported a "continuous shaking for about two or three minutes", and many people rushed outside .

Tremors felt in different places like China,Hong Kong,Bangladesh,India,Japan,Macau,Mongolia,Pakistan,Nepal,Russia,Thailand and Vietnam.

Property Damanged

Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide reported official estimates of insurers' losses at US$1 billion from the earthquake, because estimated total damages exceed US$20 billion. It values Chengdu, Sichuan Province’s capital city of 4.5 million people, at around US$115 billion, with a only small portion covered by insurance.
Reginald DesRoches, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Georgia Tech points out that the massive damage of properties and houses in the earthquake area was because China did not get an adequate seismic design code until following the big Tangshan earthquake in 1976. DesRoches said: "If the buildings were older and built prior to that [1976 earthquake], chances are they weren't built for adequate earthquake forces."
News report indictates that the poorer, rural villages were hardest hit. Swaminathan Krishnan, assistant professor of civil engineering and geophysics at the California Institute of Technology said: "the earthquake occurred in the rural part of China. Presumably, many of the buildings were just built; they were not designed, so to speak." Swaminathan Krishnan further added: "There are very strong building codes in China, which take care of earthquake issues and seismic design issues. But many of these buildings presumably were quite old and probably were not built with any regulations overseeing them."

Countries that donated money.

-Cambodia: The Cambodian Red Cross has donated $10,000.

-France: Later this week the French government will send a cargo plane loaded with tents, sleeping bags, blankets, tarpaulins, cooking kits and other materials worth an estimated $385,500.

-Germany: As a "first step," the German government pledged $770,000 via the German Red Cross in aid for earthquake victims.

-Hong Kong (SAR): The government has pledged to give $38.4 million for relief efforts. The Hong Kong Jockey Club has offered $3.85 million.To facilitate individual donations, Hong Kong's post offices and district government offices will act as collection points. Donations made at those places will be passed on to five relief organizations (Hong Kong Red Cross, World Vision Hong Kong, Oxfam Hong Kong, UNICEF and The Salvation Army) for emergency relief operations related to the Sichuan earthquake.

-India: India underlined its close ties with China and offered assistance worth $5 million to help the victims of the earthquake. This amount would be utilised for relief material, including blankets, tents, sleeping bags, and medicines.

-Japan: The Japanese government pledged $4.8 million in cash and goods to be disbursed through the Chinese government and international organizations. Tokyo says it is ready to offer further assistance if required.Chinese government accepted the aid of Japanese rescue team at May 15.The first batch, include 31 members, had arrived at the Beijing Capital International Airport at about 9:25 p.m. on May 15, and they were soon transferred to another flight heading for Chengdu. Another batch, including 30 members, has scheduled to leave Japan for China on May 16.

-Macau (SAR): Macau has pledged $14.3 million from the government and $1.43 million from the Macau Foundation.

-Malaysia: The Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) may be deployed to China to help the earthquake victims in Chengdu.

-Norway: The Norwegian government has pledged $3.92 million for disaster relief.

-Philippines: The Philippine government has pledged $450,000 in aid, and has ordered a Philippine medical team to the region.

-Russia: A transport plane carrying 30 tonnes of relief material from Russia arrived in Sichuan's provincial capital Chengdu on Wednesday, becoming the first batch of international aid to reach China. Another 100 tonnes of goods will arrive on three flights in the coming days.

-Singapore: Singapore has donated $200,000 in relief aid, as well as $70,000 raised through fund raisers from local Chinese communities.

-South Korea: South Korea has pledged roughly $1 million in aid to China. Seoul also plans to send rescue workers.

-Republic of China (Taiwan): The Executive Yuan announced that the government would donate $65 million in relief aid. President-elect Ma Ying-jeou has donated $6,500. The government also plans to send a 58-person search and rescue team. Taiwanese companies and entrepreneurs have pledged nearly $42.9 million. Formosa Plastics Group alone has offered $14.3 million, while top electronics maker Hon Hai (Foxconn Technology Group) plans to give $8.57 million. From Thursday, Taiwan will also fly chartered aircraft to Sichuan to ship material provided by charity groups.On May 16, around 150 tons of supplies from Taiwanese Red Cross and the Tzu Chi organization arrived in Sichuan.

-Thailand: Thailand has devoted $500,000 to aid disaster relief efforts for those affected by both the earthquake in China and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.

-United States: The US has designated $500,000 as an "initial contribution" in response to an appeal for aid by the International Red Cross. Additional funding will be considered after the U.S. finishes its commitments to the victims of Cyclone Nargis. For comparison, Yao Ming has personally donated $250,000.

-Caribbean: The leaders of Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada along with other Caribbean nations on Wednesday, 12 May gave their official condolences to China following the earthquake.