As people across China’s Sichuan province continue to rebuild their lives one year after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake leveled some towns and cities, the region’s famed giant pandas are still struggling due to the devastation wreaked by the deadly temblor. The quake triggered mountain landslides and caused damage across large areas of the forests at the Wolong Giant Panda Protection Studies Center, also known as “the Home of Pandas.” A majority of the reserve’s panda living facilities and its studies facilities were damaged. “The pandas were traumatized by the quake.
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China quake scars linger amid rebuilding
In one big jolt, the worst earthquake to hit China in 32 years changed the lives of millions of people in the nation’s heartland. The earthquake struck Sichuan province on May 12, 2008, at 2:28 p.m., just when students were taking lessons in schools, caretakers were watching over giant pandas, farmers were tilling fields and people were shopping in stores. The initial tremor, which had an 8.0 magnitude, was so strong it was felt as far away as Beijing and even Bangkok, more than 2,000 kilometers (nearly 1250 miles) away.