Earthquake

 

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Yushu County of northwest China's Qinghai Province early on April 14, killing about 2,700 people and injuring 12,135 of which 1,434 are severely injured.

In the first half of the year, the word "earthquake" was often at the top of hot keyword lists on Baidu, a well-known Chinese search engine.

Earthquakes happen every year, but never quite as frequent as in 2010 when Haiti, Chile, Mexico, Yushu County of China and many other regions and countries were struck by massive earthquakes, offering a down-to-earth perspective on "2012".

The frequency of earthquake-occurrence has led to some suspicions among people that God was testing humanity or even that Terra Madre was punishing us for our destruction of the environment.