Earthquake update #1: USGS

Via Tom Hill, whose first-day account from Chengdu I mentioned here, and also Edward Goldstick, this map from the U.S. Geological Survey showing peak-intensity shaking areas during last week's earthquake: That USGS page has links to many other revealing and sobering maps, for instance this one about population exposure during the earthquake. It is also worth comparing the peak-intensity map to this one, from Pandas International, showing the location of panda reserves and remaining wild panda territory.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2008/05/earthquake-update-1-usgs/8045/