【正】Time stopped at 14:28 on May 12, 2008. Wenchuan of Sichuan Province, an unknown small county hidden in the mountains became the centre of attention in China and the world as well. An 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck Wenchuan, ripping open the ground, causing landslides that blocked highways and rivers, collapsing buildings, and sending tremors across the country. This tranquil county town was reduced to ruins in a couple of minutes. The earthquake affected a total area of 410,000 square kilometres including provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi and Yunnan, and Chongqing Municipality, of which an area of 100,000 square kilometres suffered devastating damages. By June 4, the earthquake has claimed 69,122 lives, injured 373,606 people and 17,991 were still missing. The estimated direct economic loss reached 600 billion yuan (86 billion US dollars).