Posted on 05/14/2008 4:29:09 PM PDT by blam
China earthquake: Exodus begins from Sichuan
By Richard Spencer in Hanwang Town, Sichuan Province
Last Updated: 11:05PM BST 14/05/2008
Tens of thousands of people have poured down from the mountainsides of Sichuan searching for food and water as rescuers evacuated towns where more than 40,000 people are dead, buried or missing. Rescue teams are digging through rubble, trying to reach survivors of a powerful earthquake in China.
Helicopters began to airlift residents out of the villages of Wenchuan county at the epicentre of the earthquake which struck China on Monday, while others walked for hours into the valleys and plains to the south and east. The county is still cut off from land-based relief by landslides.
But the exodus might yet be heading into more danger, with emergency workers attempting to plug gaps in two major dams.
The Zipingpu dam, above the city of Dujiangyan with its population of 600,000, was said at one stage to be in an "extremely dangerous state" with cracks more than four inches wide appearing in its face, though the water resources ministry later said on its website that it was stable for the time being.
Tulong dam, further north on the Min river, was said by officials to be near collapse, something which would have a knock-on effect on a series of dams and power stations further downstream.
Almost 400 dams altogether were said to have been affected by Monday's earthquake – the wet and mountainous province is criss-crossed by some of China's biggest and fastest-flowing rivers.
While some dams, like Zipingpu, are modern, others were built when construction standards were lower.
All day long, the 100,000 troops now assigned to the rescue effort grappled with the wreckage of major cities, towns and villages across a wide area.
There were some successes, including the rescue of a three-year-old girl in Beichuan, one of the worst-affected towns, and an eight-months pregnant woman trapped under an apartment block in Dujiangyan.
But by the evening the official death toll stood at nearly 15,000, with another 25,000 reported buried and more unaccounted for.
In Wenchuan, a paramilitary officer told local television that a third of houses had been destroyed and 90 per cent damaged.
Meanwhile, the survivors were starting to look ever more desperately for supplies, walking for hours out of their mountain villages to seek help.
"There is nothing left of my village," said Fu Yuanming, who had walked for 10 hours from Village Number 3 of Qingping district near the epicentre to Hanwang town. "We need help. Our people have nothing to eat, they have nothing to drink."
He said a landslide had blocked the river above the village, turning into a reservoir that was about to burst.
Along all the roads in the region, makeshift camps have been set up. Residents of the towns lined up patiently as fire engines served out buckets of water; in the villages, locals ran out into the road to forcibly stop trucks and beg for supplies of noodles and biscuits.
"Someone had better set up relief coordination, or the people will resort to robbery," said one man in the village of Wudu.
More than 10,000 people were crowded into the sports stadium in the city of Mianyang, Sichuan's second biggest city and an important base for China's high-tec industry. Many had walked from Beichuan.
Ralph Johnson, a British teacher who lives in the city and runs a pub there, said that almost a million people were now spending their days on the streets. That included the city's 800,000 population, many of whom were like him unable to return to their damaged flats, and thousands more refugees.
He was also waiting to hear news of the mountain primary school for which his regulars have raised funds, and which feeds a secondary school known to have collapsed with up to 1,000 dead.
"We have not heard anything from the school," he said.
A British embassy rapid response unit began work in the provincial capital Chengdu to help coordinate the search for tourists trapped in the region. Nineteen members of a Kuoni tour party that were on their way to the Wolong giant panda reserve near Wenchuan when the earthquake hit were still unaccounted for last night.
There were unconfirmed reports that a group of 50 tourists had been located at the reserve, and 12 Americans who had been missing spoke to Worldwide Fund for Nature officials by satellite phone.
But Sir William Ehrman, the British ambassador, told The Daily Telegraph that there had still been no contact with the British group.
"We are extremely concerned," he said. "We are trying all we can to locate those who are unaccounted for."
when Tibet is very uncultured and needy,
who is say:” Tibet autocephaly ?”
who answer me?
your are not see chinese government,how is help tibet!!!
when tibet ,havn’t school.foodstuff,railroad ,road......
everyone is savage......
now ,everyone know Tibet is beautiful .
please your are think:”who is change rude;s tibet!!!
How about we start a couple new threads? One for “Commie China is a meanie” and another for “United States bites”. Let’s leave this one for the great quake exodus.
You expect two pro-China sycophants who show up for the first time today posting postive remarks about China to be believed?
You two are obvious plants of the Chinese government.
According to the History of Tibet China never had any real control until 1950 when it brutally invaded. In fact Tibet had control over China in more substantive ways more than once in the past.Tibet was under Chinese control(more as a feudal vassal than direct control) from 1724-1900 or so.
Tibetans don’t see how you are helping them either. I know Tibetans personally so don’t try and BS me about it.
Nope. Not true.
And double-posting on top of all that.
when Tibet is very uncultured and needy,So? If I have better technology can I go to your house, kill you, take your land and rape your wife?who is say:” Tibet autocephaly ?”
who answer me?
your are not see chinese government,how is help tibet!!!
when tibet ,havn’t school.foodstuff,railroad ,road......
everyone is savage......
now ,everyone know Tibet is beautiful .
please your are think:”who is change rude;s tibet!!!
“invading?
not invasion, it’s reunion, the same as the Civil War in U.S. in 1861~1865
pl read more about Chinese history from real history
do not like CNN”
Now THAT’s a kwok.....
Nope. Not true.If you've got an alternate story I'd love to hear it.
i am girl.havn’t wife!
you compare to without reason.
i am remember history!
who aggressively who ,i think ,everyone know it!!!
You expect two pro-China sycophants who show up for the first time today posting postive remarks about China to be believed?You'd be surprised. Chinese true believers don't need much encouragement. Do people pay us to stir up trouble on DU?You two are obvious plants of the Chinese government.
I posted the link in #37. The period you speak of is covered there and, although brief enough, it’s a little long to post on this thread. Ambassadorships and other diplomatic arrangements don’t really add up to sovereign control. It just wasn’t there.
if you are go to Tibet,
and feel every people,
you can hear ,they are very love chinese government.
and thanks for government give them all!
i go to Tibetans befor.i see all ,so i know Tibetans love chinese government ,truly!!1
people’s thought than more DALAI!
i am girl.havn’t wife!ヘベさんの英語分かりにくいので、中文も入れて下さい。
you compare to without reason.
i am remember history!
who aggressively who ,i think ,everyone know it!!!
請書寫中文的。你的英語是很難理解。我發言日本，所以我將能夠明白你是說在中國。
Please write in Chinese. Your English is difficult to understand.
Another one.
I posted the link in #37. The period you speak of is covered there and, although brief enough, it’s a little long to post on this thread. Ambassadorships and other diplomatic arrangements don’t really add up to sovereign control. It just wasn’t there.I got my information from your link. I'm trying to figure out if this is going to end up as semantic game playing or you understand something I don't.
说啊,我的意思就是为了说明西藏是属于中国的! 台湾也是如此!I understand that much sweetie. But I want to know *why* you believe that.
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