Wenchuan earthquake: What happened ten years ago?

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02:20

Saturday was the 10th anniversary of the deadly 2008 earthquake that struck Wenchuan county and its neighboring regions in southwestern China. Memorials were held to remember those that perished in the magnitude-8 earthquake.

With nearly 70,000 people killed and 18,000 missing, the earthquake was not just a disaster for locals, but a heavy punch on the heart of the whole nation.

It was an ordinary afternoon on May 12, 2008, when Wenchuan was thrown into chaos. Two minutes of violent shaking turned to be unimaginably fateful.

Ruins of a school at Yingxiu town, Wenchuan county, taken on May 11th, 2018 /VCG photo

Buildings were reduced to rubble, burying tens of thousands of people.

It was China's deadliest earthquake in three decades.

Local troops and police were the first to respond, followed by backup from across the country. Rescue forces were largely slowed by aftershocks, landslides and rain. But overcoming all these challenges and even risking their own lives, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and police officers were on the job. The quick response was widely lauded.

Soldiers take a man injured by the earthquake to safety, Mianyang, Sichuan Province, in May, 2008. /VCG photo

International rescue teams, including those from Japan, Russia, South Korea and Singapore later joined the race against time.

Public response was tremendous. People lined up to donate money, blood and other supplies. Some even volunteered to travel thousands of kilometers to help out.

A student in Beijing donates blood to help the injured from the Wenchuan earthquake, May 13, 2008. /VCG photo

Three days of national mourning were held a week later. National flags were flown at half-mast. A three-minute silence was observed across the nation. Many were tearful during the service.

Since then, millions have paid their respects at the epicenter memorial site. May 12 was designated a national day for disaster prevention and reduction.

Reconstruction took three years and cost an estimated 1.7 trillion yuan (270 billion US dollars).

People dance at the Banaqia commercial street in the relocated Beichuan County, May 9, 2018. /Xinhua photo

Ten years on, Wenchuan and other hard-hit towns have been re-built. Out of the ruins, life goes on.