en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Sichuan_earthquake
3 corrections found
The government spent $441 billion on relief and reconstruction efforts.
The $441 billion figure was reported as planned investment, not money already spent. Contemporary reporting said Sichuan planned to invest 3 trillion yuan (about US$441 billion) by 2010.
Full reasoning
The cited amount is mischaracterized. A contemporaneous Xinhua/China Daily report on Wei Hong's November 21 statement says Sichuan authorities planned to invest at least 3 trillion yuan (US$441 billion) for reconstruction by 2010. That is a forward-looking investment plan, not an amount already spent.
So the sentence is factually wrong because it turns a planned investment total into a completed expenditure.
1 source
- Tent-dwelling quake survivors move to temporary housing for winter
Authorities in Sichuan plan to invest at least 3 trillion yuan (US$441 billion) for reconstruction by 2010, executive vice provincial governor Wei Hong said on November 21.
providing close to €40,000,000 in financial assistance, and an additional €8,000,000 worth of relief materials
The amounts are wrong. Chinese state reporting said Saudi Arabia donated US$50 million in cash and US$10 million in relief materials, not €40 million and €8 million.
Full reasoning
A Xinhua report carried by CCTV on May 16, 2008 states that China thanked Saudi Arabia for a donation of 50 million US dollars in cash plus relief materials worth 10 million US dollars. That directly contradicts the euro-denominated figures in the article.
This is not just a currency-conversion issue: the reported amounts themselves differ. The source says US$50 million + US$10 million, not €40 million + €8 million.
1 source
- China thanks Saudi Arabia for earthquake donation
China expressed its thanks to Saudi Arabia for its donation of 50 million USdollars in cash and relief materials worth 10 million US dollars to the quake-hit areas.
described as "very destructive" on the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS)
This mislabels EMS intensity XI. On the European Macroseismic Scale, XI is 'Devastating'; 'Very destructive' is intensity X.
Full reasoning
The British Geological Survey's synopsis of the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS-98) lists:
- 10 = Very destructive
- 11 = Devastating
The article is specifically discussing a maximum intensity of XI, so calling that level "very destructive" is incorrect. On EMS-98, intensity XI corresponds to "Devastating."
1 source
- EMS Intensities Synopsis
10 Very destructive ... 11 Devastating ... Abstracted from - Grünthal, G., (ed.), (1998). "European Macroseismic Scale 1998"