Chinese rescuers search for survivors at a collapsed building ©AFP
Chinese rescuers remove an injured student from the rubble of a collapsed school ©AFP/Xinhua - AFP
Chinese rescuers evacuate a survivor from a collapsed building in Dujiangyan ©AFP
Posted on 05/14/2008 12:37:27 AM PDT by stlnative
China quake toll soars as full horror begins to emerge
14/05/2008
DUJIANGYAN (AFP) - The full horror of the devastating China earthquake began to emerge Wednesday as rescuers discovered whole towns all but wiped off the map, pushing the death toll well above 20,000.
Military and police teams punched into the heart of the disaster zone, with 100 troops parachuting into a county that was previously cut off while planes and helicopters air-dropped emergency supplies.
But the message that came back from this mountainous corner of southwestern Sichuan province was that town after town was flattened by the 7.9-magnitude quake that struck two days ago.
The death toll has soared well above 20,000, but that toll is rising by the hour as more information comes in from stricken communities.
"The losses have been severe," Wang Yi, who heads an armed police unit sent into the epicentre zone, was quoted as saying by Sichuan Online news site.
"Some towns basically have no houses left. They have all been razed to the ground."
A least 7,700 people died in the small town of Yingxiu alone, state media cited a local government official as saying, with only 2,300 surviving.
Across Sichuan, countless thousands more people are missing or buried under the rubble of shattered homes, schools and factories.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said 100,000 military personnel and police had been mobilised, indicating the epic scale of the country's worst earthquake in a generation.
The air drop started with planes and helicopters flying dozens of sorties, dropping tonnes of food and relief aid into the worst-hit zone, most of it cut off from the outside world by landslides and road closures.
The destruction around the epicentre in remote Wenchuan county is massive, with whole mountainsides sheared off, highways ripped apart and building after building levelled.
Rescue teams have been seen pulling bodies and badly injured survivors out of the ruins.
As well as Yingxiu, CCTV television said air drops were also made in nearby Mianyang -- where the death toll jumped to nearly 5,500 -- as well as Mianzhu and Pengzhou.
Helicopters also flew to Wenchuan with food, drinks, tents, communications equipment and other supplies.
The rescue effort has been badly disrupted since Monday by heavy rain, and the Meteorological Authority forecasting more later in the week, raising the risk of fresh landslides.
Amid the setbacks, the nation focused on the precious minutes going by for those who were buried under rubble but may have survived.
Cries for help were heard from a flattened school in Yingxiu, where people were forced to try and dig out survivors with their hands, state media said.
"The situation in Yingxiu is even worse than expected," one local official said.
In towns and villages across a swathe of Sichuan, heart-rending scenes were played out as grief-stricken families searched for missing loved ones.
In the city of Mianzhu, where at least 3,000 died, rescuers picked through twisted metal and concrete trying to find people whose voices could be heard under the rubble.
"My younger brother is in there," 42-year-old Li -- his eyes bloodshot from sleep deprivation -- said next to a heap that was once a bank.
The local disaster relief headquarters said rescuers had been able to pull 500 people alive out of the debris of collapsed buildings, but 20,000 in three outer villages were still out of reach.
Wednesday's leg of the Olympic torch relay in eastern Jianxi province began with a minute's silence before the runners set off.
Organisers of the Beijing Olympics said they would scale down the relay as the torch makes it way to the capital for the summer Games, a further knock to its troubled round-the-world journey after earlier protests over Tibet.
World powers including the United States, European Union and United Nations as well as the International Olympic Committee have rallied round with offers of help.
China welcomed the offers but said conditions were "not yet ripe" to allow in foreign rescue teams, citing damage to transport links.
A Japanese foreign ministry official in charge of emergency aid said Japan offered rescue teams with sniffer dogs, but China had made no request.
US President George W. Bush and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao discussed the disaster by telephone, with Washington offering half a million dollars in initial disaster aid.
New China Quake Thread Ping
I’m afraid the final numbers of fatalities are going to be staggering. Towns have not been reconed yet, and we’re already 20,000 plus.
I sure hate to see this kind of loss of life.
Situation at China’s quake epicenter worse than expected
2008-05-14 11:23:44
WENCHUAN, Sichuan, May 14 (Xinhua) — The situation in Yingxiu Town of Wenchuan County, the epicenter of Monday’s massive earthquake, was worse than expected with traffic cut off and children buried in debris, according to local government officials who trekked into the area.
Only 2,300 people out of the town’s population of more than 10,000 survived the quake, and more than 1,000 of the survivors were badly injured, said He Biao, deputy secretary-general of the Aba prefectural government.
He cited other officials — including three vice governors of Aba (Bai Licheng, Wu Zegang and Li Chuan) — who were in Yingxiu at present.
Survivors desperately needed medical help, food and water, the officials were quoted by He as saying.
Cries for help were heard from under the debris of a local school, but people had to dig with their hands, since blocked roads were preventing rescue teams and machinery from reaching the site.
“The situation in Yingxiu is even worse than expected,” said an official on duty in the Aba government, citing the three vice governors.
The official said the vice governors treked into Yingxiu after many hardships and several close brushes with death.
Rocks were still rolling down from the mountains on Wednesday. The highway linking Yingxiu and Dujiangyan City was totally paralyzed and a bridge on the highway had collapsed, hampering the arrival of rescuers.
He said he had managed to contact the vice governors at 7 a.m. on Wednesday but the phone went dead as they were speaking.
In a nearby town, Shuimo, with 20,000 people, roads and bridges were severely damaged and rescue teams had not arrived. Shuimo was also in need of food, medicine and water.
Hundreds of soldiers entered Wenchuan County on Tuesday and had pulled more than 1,000 people from collapsed buildings by nightfall, according to the disaster relief headquarters of the Chengdu Military Area Command.
Wang Yi, a staff officer of an armed police troop, said on Wednesday morning that disaster relief materials have arrived in Wenchuan and local residents were in a “stable” mood. Wang’s team has rescued more than 80 people since they arrived at 11 p.m. on Tuesday.
However, he said many tourists were stranded in Wenchuan, and food, water and medicine were greatly needed.
“Many towns and villages around the county seat have been leveled to the ground,” Wang added.
As of 8 a.m. on Wednesday, more than 800 armed police had arrived at Wenchuan and started rescue operations.
On Wednesday morning, two helicopters with relief supplies flew over Yingxiu Town and three more were awaiting orders at the Fenghuanshang airport, according to the Chengdu Military Command.
If weather conditions permit, the five helicopters will fly to Wenchuan County to air-drop relief supplies.
Two remote-sensing navy planes left Beijing at 7 a.m. on Wednesday to collect data in Sichuan.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/14/content_8167268.htm
In the mid-70’s, an earthquake of similar magnitude hit the same region and the death toll was close to 250,000.
These people really need our prayers.
......Bob
For those of you that have DishNetwork here in the states.
You can get live coverage from CCTV9 it is Channel 265 on DishNetwork.
Quake razed some Chinese cities ‘to the ground’
Updated May 14, 2008 17:53:44
Rescue workers who made it to Wenchuan County, the epicentre of this week’s devastating earthquake in China, say some towns have been “razed to the ground”, with not a single house left standing.
Several thousand army troops and medical workers arrived in the area late on Tuesday, after having to walk to the area, after damaged roads and bad weather made it impossible to drive or fly in.
According to the Chinese airforce, troops are now parachuting into areas where bad weather has until now made it impossible to reach.
“The losses have been severe. Some towns basically have no houses left. They have all been razed to the ground,” Wang Yi, head of an armed police unit sent into the disaster zone, was quoted as saying by Sichuan Online news site.
He did not say how many of Wenchuan’s eight main towns had suffered such a high level of damage in Monday’s 7.9 magnitude earthquake, but said they included the towns of Yingxiu, Xuankou, and Wolong.
“Mountain villages in the surrounding area have also been basically razed to the ground,” he added.
The ABC’s China correspondent Stephen McDonell has travelled to the region and says rescue workers have a hard task ahead of them.
“We’re hearing people calling out for help in large hills of rubble and they didn’t have the equipment needed to clear those hills of rubble, so it might be pretty tough for them,” he said.
“I can’t imagine just by using your bare hands, for example where I’m standing now there’s just rubble all around me, you could never move it if you wanted to, using your hands.
“You’d need heavy lifting equipment.”
Officially more than 12,000 people have been killed in the quake, but tens of thousands of people are understood to be buried in the rubble of their homes, schools and workplaces in the quake zone.
According to some reports, in the city of Mianyang there are nearly 20,000 people buried, while elsewhere in Beichuan County, photos showed only around a fifth of buildings were still standing.
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2244803.htm?tab=latest
Your mention of the 70s quake doesn't surprise me. I doubt the buildings are all that safe for higher scale earthquakes.
My heart does go out to them. I agree that we should be praying for them.
I hope the Chinese government allows relief efforts to take place without interference, unlike what's going on in Myanmar. (Burma)
It’s heartbreaking to read about things like this. The cyclone in Mayamar and there have been a number of bad things happening in the states recently.
It is a mistake to not accept help, even if it proves not to be all that helpful in the long run. To not do all one can do will lead to great anger from those who desperately need help now. Later is too late.
In addition “mobilizing 100,000 troops” doesn’t seem that large for a country the size of China. That’s only 1 out of 10,000 of the population. It isn’t enough.
We have our fair share here and yet we still focus on disaster relief without discussing our abortions. You and I agree that abortions are bad, but I think we can table that during this time. These folks need our sympathy and support right now.
There are American’s trapped in Wolong. They do have cell phone usage now. One of them called into CCTV a little while ago.
“I hope the Chinese government allows relief efforts to take place without interference, unlike what’s going on in Myanmar. “
I do not think that Myanmar is being repeated. If China is having to parachute in relief troops (workers), trying to coordinate foreign relief workers would be damn near impossible.
I do not have any knowledge of the area, but I understand it is very mountainous, and highly populated. Probably a nightmare come true.
......Bob
China may have new threat from damaged N-facilities (Nuclear)
New Delih: The aftermath of China’s devastating earthquake on Tuesday saw makeshift refugee camps mushrooming in odd places, with Mianyang being one of them.
The industrial city plays home to China’s nuclear weapons industry and turned into a refugee camp as tens of thousands of residents camped on streets for the second night in a row. Thousands more stayed in the city’s stadium.
The city’s buildings were dark and deserted as the government posted guards to keep the people out, for fear of aftershocks. Powerful aftershocks, one to the tune of magnitude 6, was felt in Sichuan’s Chengdu, one of the cities worst hit by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
However, the refugees may not be safe even now, for the earthquake may have damaged the nuclear facilities in Mianyang.
French experts of the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) told agencies on Tuesday that they could not rule out damage to the nuclear facilities in Daya Bay, Lingao, Qinshan and Tianwan, as a result of the earthquakes.
Though all nuclear reactors are located more than thousand kilmetres from the epicentre, other nuclear facilities - such as research reactors - are located in Sichuan, some even within 100 km of the epicentre.
“Given the sharp ground acceleration of 250 centimetres per second detected 70 kilometres from the epicentre, it is not possible at this stage to rule out damage to these facilities,” the institute said in a statement to agencies.
Mianyang’s surrounding areas have a reported death toll of 7,300 while 18,000 are still believe to be trapped under rubble.
More than 12,000 deaths have been reported in the Sichuan province alone.
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/china-may-have-new-threat-from-damaged-nfacilities/65247-2.html
The U.S. will help and so will many other nations. I just hope the Chinese government doesn't get paranoid and put road blocks (figurative) up.
In central California where I live (about 10 miles from the coast) the required design goal for new home construction is withstanding a 7.0 earthquake without major structural failure. Anything pushing an 8.0 will likely destroy any building regardless of construction technique. At that level the ground under the structure fails. We are fortunate that our primary building material is wood. Wood frame buildings even after they completely fail provide lots of survivable space. Masonry and concrete buildings simply crush you.
World’s oldest irrigation system in China safe after quake
2008-05-14 15:23:53
BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhua) — The safety of the world’s oldest operating irrigation system was not compromised by Monday’s quake, though the system sustained minor damage, the Ministry of Water Resources said on Wednesday.
The quake caused cracks in the V-shaped dike of the Dujiangyan project, which is more than 2,000 years old, and there were collapses in a sluice control room and a standby power generator room, it said.
The city of Dujiangyan, near the epicenter in Wenchuan County, was one of the worst-hit regions in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake.
The ministry urged protection of the Zipingpu Reservoir between Dujiangyan and Wenchuan, and on the upper stream to Dujiangyan.
It said the irrigation system and Dujiangyan City “would be swamped” if major problems emerged at the dam at the reservoir.
The emergency response office of the Sichuan government said on Tuesday that cracks had appeared on the surface of the dam at Zipingpu and workshops collapsed, while all hydropower generators came to a halt.
The ministry set up a command center at Zipingpu to safely discharge the reservoir’s rising waters and guarantee that the damage posed no threat to Dujiangyan and the neighboring Chengdu Plain.
The Dujiangyan project, built in 256 BC, is more than 50 kilometers from the provincial capital of Chengdu and irrigates 666,000 hectares of land, including Chengdu.
Sichuan has other major water projects, including the south-to-north water diversion project and the Three Gorges Dam, both of which reported no impact from the quake
Actually, the 7.8 Tangshan Quake of ‘76 was not in the same area. This was central China (since the US is almost exactly the same size, think of the area Wichita, KS), and Tangshan is northeast of Beijing (think Trenton, NJ).
China’s recent modernization should keep the final tally lower than Tangshan’s count. Also, the Tangshan quake hit at 3am, and was followed by a 7.7 aftershock at 7pm that night while they were starting recovery efforts.
bkmark.
more than 12,000 now, it’s increaing.....
Thanks for your comments. They were informative and I appreciated them.
read leader story to thread - 20,000+ now
Fire on derailed freight train finally put out
2008-05-14 15:56:58
WUDU, Gansu, May 14 (Xinhua) — The fire on a train carrying gasoline derailed by Monday’s earthquake was finally been put out on Wednesday morning.
The 40-car freight train, including 12 gasoline tankers , was derailed inside a tunnel in northwest China when Monday’s massive earthquake struck.
The fire had burnt about 40 hours before it was put out at 6 a.m. Wednesday on the Baoji-Chengdu railway in Huixian County, Gansu Province. Firefighters used more than 20,000 sandbags and hundreds of wet quilts to cover the north exit and vents of the tunnel, to starve the fire of oxygen.
The Baoji-Chengdu railway is still suspended.
“Today’s job is to pour water and foam into the tunnel to prevent the fire from burning again,” said Vice Minister of Railways Lu Chunfang, who is in charge of the fire control operation.
When conditions were ripe, the derailed cars would be put on the track and moved out of the tunnel, Lu said.
People could not enter the tunnel at the moment because of the heat, poisonous gas and the danger of explosion.
More than 1,600 residents were evacuated, an official with the Huixian County disaster relief headquarters said.
The heat of the blaze could be felt 100 meters away on Tuesday.
The train just entered the tunnel in Huixian County at 2:28 p.m. on Monday when the massive quake struck. The train had been en route from Baoji, Shaanxi Province to Guangyuan, Sichuan Province, said Wang Hongtao, deputy director of the Xi’an Railway Bureau’s general office.
Huge rocks blocked the tunnel exit. The driver put on the brakes, but the train still hit the rocks at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour, leading to the derailment of the locomotive and 38 carriages, Wang added.
The locomotive caught fire first, and flames then engulfed the tankers.
Two train drivers were injured and have been sent to hospital. They were recovering on Tuesday afternoon.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/14/content_8169167.htm
Thanks for the information DB. That’s good to know.
I watch the Science and Discovery channels. The other day I caught a program that showed how they are building some manufactured homes for replacement of the homes lost to Katrina.
They’ve really got it down to a science. By the time they are done, that home is basically one single piece. All sections are glued together. It’s supposed to be able to stand up to 160 MPH winds.
It would seem some of those tricks could be utilized in normal homes, so that they would stay in tact during earthquakes above 7.0, perhaps up to 8.0 or higher. I know they are already using a lot of trick, and perhaps they’ve incorporated all the same tricks, into the homes you’re talking about.
As long as they stay on the foundation, they should remain quite solid. Even if the foundation shifted, at least the home wouldn’t crumble in on the occupants.
China had indicated it was willing to accept international assistance but yesterday suggested the conditions were not appropriate to allow foreign rescue teams into the country.
They thanked us for the offer but given the transport and communications challenges in the region (they said it) means that the foreign rescue teams coming into the country could not be received at this point.”
Right now is when they need them the most. You have to get to people quickly, or they are lost. Delaying, will cost lives. That’s a shame.
I just suspect China is still nervous about letting us fly around the nation with our aircraft. They may not want the Chinese people to see our modern aircraft, vehicles, supplies and food stuffs either.
“What, Americans don’t hate us? They aren’t devils?”
Can’t have that get out.
Has anyone let the new folks from China who signed on know about this new thread?
I posted a link to it on the old thread that they are hanging out on in a larger than normal font, so they should see it.
the post is here on the old thread...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2014670/posts?page=1190#1190
old thread starting at post 1...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2014670/posts?page=1
Time for some sleep...
I’ll be back when I wake with more headlines.
Prayers for the Chinese during this difficult time!
thanks for all the updated information about this epic tragedy for the people and land of China.
Cannot stop praying for the survivors and for those who have lost everything including loved ones...
It is an overwhelming devastation on such a massive scale...my hat is off to all those in China who are working hard to help those suffering so terribly.
China has an army of what, 200 million or so? They have many resources to bring to the region in such desperate need. And, yes, many countries around the world would like to help however they can.
Some NGO’s are already at work in China as in Burma (Christian relief groups specifically)...Quietly without fanfare.
China is much more open than Myanmar, and much more effective in saving, the PLA has arrived the seismic center to rescue the survivors, though it was delayed by the heavy rains and bad roads.
it’s really really bad...
only 2,000 survived among 13,000
prayers up...
Please see the real photoes from Shifang,Sichuan province.
http://laiba.tianya.cn/laiba/CommMsgs?cmm=281&tid=2599846442034078635
Come on mate, I live in Shanghai and all the people in China love the States, except some brainwashed kids in college. And the people here know the States better than the Americans know China.
You need to come to Shanghai have a look, cheers!
China has 2.3 million troops :)
Amazing pictures - heart wrenching - but so many good people helping ..... prayers.
Thanks for that information. 2.3 million is all? I am surprised.
one more before I shut down...
16:58, May 14, 2008
178 students confirmed dead in one school in Sichuan
In one single school in earthquake-hit Sichuan Province 178 students were confirmed dead on Wednesday morning.
A three-storied residential building at the Muyu Middle School in Qingchuan County collapsed in the quake, burying 285 students who were taking noon nap. Another 139 students escaped.
As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, 178 were confirmed dead, 84 buried students were rescued and 23 others remained missing, according to Chen Zhengyong, head of the county government.
Source:Xinhua
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6410776.html
Why aren’t the major news outlets here covering this more???
Unbelievable.
LOL, I was in southern China last week, and was surprised to see the commercials for a hand-held GPS system that attaches to your car, or your bicycle. Modern toys are not foreign in China. I dare say that there were more high-end digital cameras in private hands on the Olympic torch relay route in Guangzhou than were on hand for the Atlanta Olympics torch relay. As for aircraft, well I'm still amazed by the F-22 that I saw last year at an air show. One can't blame anyone else in the world for marvelling at something awesome like that... but then again, China's own aircraft aren't that far behind, either.
“What, Americans don’t hate us? They aren’t devils?” Can’t have that get out.
Americans are not hated by the Chinese. The Chinese word for America is Mei Guo... literally translated, it means "Beautiful Country". They know we don't hate them, either. They understand that we're a bit concerned about so much of our industry being replaced by Chinese factories, but I think they know that our biggest concerns are with their government, and not their people or culture.
As with every nation and culture on earth, one must be careful to remember that the people and the government are always two distinct entities. Most Americans hate America's government, so it's no surprise to discover that most of the world's citizens also hate America's government... but few societies (outside of the evil French) show any dislike or disdain for American citizens. We are widely known in China, and throughout the world, for being kind, generous, helpful, happy, fun, and involved. Further, China's experience in WWII was traumatic (the city of Nanjing lost more people in mere months than were killed in the Holocaust in all of Europe in 5 years, and just as brutally), and America was the primary Allied force in the area turning back the Japanese army. Even a Cultural Revolution cannot change those memories.
i know I put a /sarc/ in there...grrrrr
I did not discern this myself, though. I was told "beautiful country" by a charming university student at an English Corner 3 years ago... but the reaction of the other Chinese there did tell me that it was more clever than educational, LOL. I just don't see where the translation isn't literal. Can you help clarify for me? (My Putonghua vocab is still less than 400 words, and my reading and writing list is less than 200 words, but I'm making strides when I can!)
Sounds like the auto-translator was programmed using the King James Bible. That should be 'tent', of course.
Thank you for the link Kchoho. The photos show what happens during a 7.9 magnitude quake.
7.9 Earthquake May 12, 2008
Shifang Sichuan China
Today again I heard USGS Dr. Lucy Jones talking about the certainty of a major quake occurring on the San Andreas fault in less than 30 years. "We are long overdue" said Dr. Jones.
When the San Andreas fault goes, the shaking will last at least 100 seconds compared to the few seconds shaking which occurred during the Northridge earthquake.
Dr. Jones mentioned that there were many buildings built during the 60s and early 70s which despite their being "earthquake compliant" back then, will not be able to withstand that large of an earthquake.
It's not a matter of "if" it is a matter of "when."
- Two weeks supply of food per person
- Two weeks supply of water per person
- Two weeks supply of food per pet,
- Two weeks supply of water per pet,
- Emergency medical supplies, one for car, one for home
- Cash on hand
- List of emergency phone numbers
- List of out of state family emergency contacts
- Battery operated or hand crank radio
- Flashlights - at least one person
- Batteries for the flashlights
- Sleeping bags one per person
- Blankets,
- Tent,
- Cooking gear,
- Full tank of gas for your car,
- Spare set of clothes and shoes per person, etc.
God Bless this woman. I pray that she survived and that her relatives will be able to help her get back to a normal life soon.
These people receiving outdoor medical care are the lucky ones, but I imagine they don't feel very lucky.
Hospitals were also damaged during the Northridge earthquake, a 6.4 magnitude quake. The main major trauma center for the entire San Fernando Valley, Northridge Hospital was closed for months while repairs were made.
Thanks for the translations, Communion. I pray for the best for all of your family and friends. Your perspective is most welcome here.
When I left Guangzhou last week, my closest friends there were hoping to return home to Sichuan. I am glad that their plans were delayed!
(By the way, I think you mean to write “tent” rather than “tabernacle”, which is usually a large religious building.)
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