Geo-engineering lessons learned from the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan and their significance to reconstruction

The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan of China was the result of quake-triggering along an active several hundred-kilometer-long fault. The subsequent landslides and debris flow geohazards are dominating factors in planning post-disaster recovery and rebuilding. This paper presents recommendations for coping with large-scale geohazards and disasters. It is essential to establish a national emergency management system for huge scale catastrophe and earthquake precursor identification. Town construction must be kept away from active faults, especially to improve town safety in areas with high risk of seismic and geological hazards, and it is important to improve geohazard investigation and remediation for mountain areas that have become loosened by earthquake activity. Geological factors must be better understood to reduce direct and secondary risks and effects of earthquakes. Site selections for public relocation require clear and informed analysis of geological and social risk reduction, so that relocation, infrastructure reconstruction, and commemorative relic-sites can be protected.