Predict earthquakes in China

Ji ShaoCheng of École College, a branch of the University of de Montréal is a member of the team that studied the devastating earthquake in China last May.

May 12, 2008, 2:28 pm, Szechwan province of China changes forever. In about 90 seconds, an earthquake equivalent to 1,200 hydrogen bombs destroyed the earth's crust in a range of more than 280 kilometers. All cities disappear and 8 million houses are swallowed up. This event left 70,000 people dead and 20,000 missing.

Two months later, ShaoCheng went to Szechwan province to conduct research work. Damage left unimaginable: roads and bridges collapsed, the school turned into ruins, bodies everywhere.

A school destroyed in Yingxiu, where 77% of the population is said to be dead. On May 12, an earthquake occurred in a province of Sichuan. This photo was taken at Yingxi, Sichuan, China on May 19, 2008. (Photo: iStockphoto / Rui Pestana)

According to ShaoCheng, this tragedy can be completely avoided. He said: 'There is no earthquake at Szechwan for 300 years. The authorities did not anticipate this incident. '

The problem is that China depends on global positioning data (GPS). These data show a movement of about 2mm a year in some areas, while the actual displacement is much larger. ShaoCheng asked: 'GPS is high technology, but do we know how to analyze its data?'

A former colleague who graduated with a PhD with ShaoCheng in Montpellier is currently working for the Chinese Academy of Geosciences and invited him to cooperate. His task was to dig three narrow wells, three kilometers into the ground.

ShaoCheng said: 'This will allow us to compare the characteristics of rock before and after the earthquake. We will also check the properties of heat and liquid pressure. One of these wells will be equipped with seismic gauges and another is equipped with a device similar to the doctor's stethoscope, designed to record the beating of the Earth. "

The reconstruction of this completely destroyed area will take about 5 years.