China is located in one of the most active seismic regions of the world and has suffered numerous destructive earthquakes. We now take a look at a chronology of some of the biggest over the past 5 years.
In February 2003, an earthquake measuring 6.8 magnitude hit the sparsely populated Jiashi county in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest of the country.
In February 2003, an earthquake measuring 6.8 magnitude hit the sparsely populated Jiashi county in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest of the country. 94 people died and more than 200 were injured.
In November 2005, an earthquake measuring 5.7 magnitude jolted Jiangxi province in east China, leaving more than two hundred and fifty thousand people homeless.
In 2006, An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale struck Wenan county in north China's Hebei province on July 4th. No immediate casualties were reported.
And just 3 weeks later, another 5.1 earthquake hit southwestern Yunnan Province. This time at least 22 people were killed and more than 100 injured.
In December 2006, a series of tremors off the southern coast of Taiwan Island killed two people and injured 42. The quake measured 7.2 on the Richter Scale, and was followed by over a hundred aftershocks.
In June 2007, Yunnan was hit again, by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake. Three people died and more than five hundred were injured.
In March 2008, an earthquake measuring 7.2 rocked the remote northwestern region of Xinjiang. The damage was limited.
(CCTV May 14, 2008)