• The observed occurrence of fires in chemical facilities after the earthquake in Sichuan Province is in accordance with the conclusions of a recent study that indicates that the ignition probability of a flammable substance is rather high upon release during an earthquake. Krausmann et al. • The most frequent final scenarios triggered by earthquakes were fires and the release of hazardous materials without ignition; • Based on the analysis of 713 accident case histories, oil, diesel and gasoline were the hazardous materials most frequently released during lighting-triggered accidents (55%). S. Zama et al. (2012)