A total of 99 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5 or higher happened in China in 2008, the China Earthquake Administration reported Thursday on its Web site.

Of all the quakes, 87 occurred on the mainland and 12 happened in sea areas and Taiwan. Quakes between 5-5.9 on the Richter scale numbered 78, quakes between 6-6.9 on the Richter scale numbered 19, 7-7.9 numbered 1; and 8-8.9 numbered 1.

The May 12 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake, which is considered to be the most severe natural disaster in a decade, killed 69,227 people with 373,643 injured and 17,923 missing. It caused an economic loss of 845.1 billion yuan.

Other dangerous quakes also included a 6.6-magnitude earthquake in Damxung county, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. It killed 10 people and injured 54.

The administration pointed out that most quakes occurred in densely populated areas, which has caused great life and property losses.

The administration also said that in 2008, earthquakes with a magnitude of 6 or higher were more than the total number of such quakes in the past five years.

(Xinhua News Agency February 18, 2009)