Likely referring to the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake that killed a reported 87,000 people (but likely far higher given what we know about the government of China).
> Around that time, an anthropologist who had recently returned from Chinese refugee camps saw how people would sacrifice half their disposable income just to own an iPhone.
The original iPhone was released in June 2007. The 2008 Sichuan Earthquake matches up.