Japanese seismologist Yuji Yagi at the University of Tsukuba said that the earthquake occurred in two stages : " The 250-kilometre ( 155 mi ) Longmenshan Fault tore in two sections , the first one ripping about 6.5 metres ( 7 yd ) followed by a second one that sheared 3.5 metres ( 4 yd ) . " His data also showed that the earthquake lasted about two minutes and released 30 times the energy of the Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995 in Japan , which killed over 6,000 people . He pointed out that the shallowness of the epicenter and the density of population greatly increased the severity of the earthquake . Teruyuki Kato , a seismologist at the University of Tokyo , said that the seismic waves of the quake traveled a long distance without losing their power because of the firmness of the terrain in central China . According to reports from Chengdu , the capital of Sichuan province , the earthquake tremors lasted for " about two or three minutes "
Great Hanshin earthquake
Great Hanshin earthquake
2008 Sichuan earthquake