The ML 8.3 Wenchuan Earthquake with a focal depth of 33 km occurred at 2:28 p.m. on May 12, 2008. The epicenter is about 80 km northeast of Chengdu, Sichuan. The rupture plane is a thrust fault with a slightly right lateral strike slip.
The strike of fault plane is N229oE and dipping to the northwest with an angle of 39o.
The tremors of the earthquake were felt by most areas of China and over most areas of east and southeast Asia. Over the course of the eight minute earthquake, it was felt slightly as well in Taiwan 1,900 km away from the epicenter demonstrating the power of the earthquake. According to China's official statistics, 69,000 people were killed, 46,240,000 affected, more than 18,000 listed as missing and 374,000 injured in this earthquake. The Wenchuan earthquake is the most destructive earthquake since the founding of the People’s Republic of China and is the deadliest earthquake after the Tangshan earthquake. More than 7.78 million of houses collapsed and over 24,590,000 houses were damaged. It is estimated that over 130 landslide dams were formed in Sichuan Province as a result of the earthquake, among which, 34 landslide dams have disaster risks which could have second disaster risks by the landslide of the slopes.
The ongoing collision of the Indian and Eurasian continental plates, leading to the crust of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau continues moving eastward, but was hampered at the east side of the plateau. Long-term tectonic stress accumulation in the Longmen Shan fault system occurs when rock formations cannot contain the stress resulting in fault ruptures releasing accumulated strain energy. The Wenchuan earthquake was caused under this kind of tectonic environment.

An analysis of the ML8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake, Sichuan), Ti-Chih, 27, 2