Five years after the devastating 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake struck southwest China's Sichuan Province, the same fault zone produced another quake on April 20, this time with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0. 

Lushan County in Ya'an City, the epicenter of this latest quake, is about 250 km from Wenchuan. Both earthquakes were caused by similar factors, and occurred along the Longmen Mountain fault zone.

Southwest China has suffered several deadly earthquakes. The area is on a fault line between the Indian and Asian tectonic plates, which grind against each other. 

Fortunately, the Chinese Government learned a great deal from the 2008 quake, and mobilized various departments to respond quickly to the earthquake in Ya'an, which has a population of 1.53 million. President Xi Jinping ordered all-out rescue efforts and aid for the injured. Relief personnel and supplies were quickly mobilized and rushed to the disaster area. Just hours after the quake hit, Premier Li Keqiang arrived to oversee rescue operations and coordinate emergency relief crews.

The nation was clearly much better prepared to respond to this type of emergency compared to five years ago. Its response was quicker, rescue work was better organized and there was greater social participation. Apart from rescue teams sent by the government and military, volunteers also rushed to the area to help.

When the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake happened, micro blogs had not yet become popular in China, but they now serve as a key platform for online interaction. Through micro blog services, people can tell others what has happened in disaster areas and what they urgently need, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of rescue and aid efforts. Experts say that micro blogs are a great supplement to traditional media. 

According to experts, the Ya'an earthquake was 33 times weaker than the Wenchuan quake. This, combined with the fact that many houses and buildings in Ya'an, which was seriously affected by the Wenchuan earthquake, were reinforced before this most recent quake, led to this earthquake causing significantly less damage than seen in 2008. 

Worldwide, there have been 12 earthquakes stronger than magnitude 7 this year. On average, such massive seismic events occur 18 times annually. These earthquakes call attention to the need for technology that provides earlier warnings of such devastating natural disasters. Such technology would be of great value to China, as many places in the nation currently lack an early-warning system that can effectively predict or provide early detection of seismic events.

THE EDITOR