"The process requires enduring work," said Zhang Xiaodong, deputy director of an earthquake forecast research institute under the China Earthquake Administration (CEA).
On the day when another 7.5-magnitude quake struck Nepal, following the 8.1-magnitude one last month, Zhang said: “We are in a seismically active period that began with the massive Sumatra quake in December 2004.”
Since then, the world has suffered a frequency of quakes above 8 magnitude that had not been seen since the first half of the 20th century, the seismologist said.
China has been a big victim in the seismically active period, experiencing one 8-magnitude earthquake and four 7-magnitude quakes since 2008.
According to the CEA, China has set up more than 3,100 earthquake monitoring sites countrywide, and seismic observation networks cover over 90 percent of the Chinese mainland.
Earthquakes occurring in two-thirds of the country can be reported within three minutes and accurate data can be collected and published within 30 minutes.
China has established an emergency response system consisting of central and local commanding bodies, quake rescue teams at national and provincial levels, and reserves of relief materials.
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
