6.9 -magnitude earthquake strikes China - Death toll stands at 2,698 with 270 others missing

[Treyfish]

08:36 PM ET



A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck Qinghai province of China Wednesday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.









The quake hit at 7:49 a.m. local time (8:49 p.m. ET). The epicenter was about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Qamdo, Tibet. Qinghai borders the autonomous regions of Tibet and Xingjiang and the provinces of Gansu and Sichuan.
No other details were immediately available.http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/13...-china/?hpt=T2

[Treyfish]

Re: 6.9-magnitude earthquake strikes China

Magnitude-6.9 quake hits Tibet

Updated 32 minutes ago
A magnitude-6.9 quake has hit China's autonomous region of Tibet, the US Geological Survey says.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the area, in the mountains that divide Qinghai province from the Tibet Autonomous Region.
The quake was centred 240 kilometres north north-west of Qamdo in Tibet and 380 kilometres south south-east of the mining town of Golmud in Qinghai, and had a depth of 47 kilometres, the USGS said.
The foothills to the south and east of the area are home to herders and Tibetan monasteries, while the area to the north and west is arid and desolate.
A magnitude-5.0 quake struck the same region late on Tuesday night.
The plateau is regularly shaken by earthquakes, but casualties are usually minimal because so few people live there.
The exception was the magnitude-8 quake that hit the Sichuan foothills in May 2008, killing 80,000 people.
- Reutershttp://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...?section=world

[Giuseppe]

Re: 6.9-magnitude earthquake strikes China

China earthquake kills hundreds in Qinghai (BBC, edited)

[Source: BBC, <cite cite="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8619135.stm">BBC News - China earthquake kills hundreds in Qinghai</cite>. Edited. April 14, 2010.]

China earthquake kills hundreds in Qinghai


At least 300 people have died and thousands are feared injured after a magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck China's Qinghai province, officials say.

The powerful tremor hit remote Yushu county, 800km (500 miles) south-west of the provincial capital Xining, at 0749 (2349 GMT), at a shallow depth of 10km.

Most of the buildings in the worst-hit town of Jiegu were wrecked, and landslides have cut off roads.

Rescue crews were travelling to Yushu, hundreds of miles from a major airport.

The earthquake struck just before 0800 local time - when many people were still at home. It was followed by three aftershocks.

Some media reports say most buildings in the town near the epicentre fell down. Grainy pictures on Chinese television showed rescuers pulling at the rubble of one collapsed structure. Soldiers have been sent to the area to help with the rescue.

The earthquake happened in a remote and sparsely populated area on the Tibetan plateau. The area is regularly hit by earthquakes.

About 5,000 specialist quake rescuers have been dispatched from neighbouring provinces, with the first teams expected to reach Yushu within hours.

A local official in Jiegu told the BBC that the loss from the quake was huge, and that almost all of the buildings in the town had been destroyed.

"The death toll will definitely go up," he said.

Many people have fled the town to nearby mountains, amid fears that a nearby dam could burst.

State media reported that officials are trying to drain a reservoir after a crack appeared in the dam.

A spokesman for the local government told China's state news agency Xinhua that the area was in urgent need of help.

"The streets in Jiegu are thronged with panic - injured people, with many bleeding in the head," Zhuo Huaxia told Xinhua.

"Many students are buried under the debris due to building collapse at a vocational school.

"I can see injured people everywhere. The biggest problem now is that we lack tents, we lack medical equipment, medicine and medical workers."

Many of the buildings in Yushu, a county with a largely Tibetan population of about 250,000, were thought to be made from wood.

In 2008, a huge quake struck in neighbouring Sichuan province, about 1,000km from Yushu, which left 87,000 people dead or missing.

Karsum Nyima, from Yushu county's TV station, told China's state-run CCTV that school students had been assembled in outside playgrounds, although school buildings had not collapsed.

"In a flash, the houses went down. It was a terrible earthquake. In a small park, there is a Buddhist tower and the top of the tower fell off," he said.

"Everybody is out on the streets, standing in front of their houses, trying to find their family members."

Earthquake survivors are struggling to stay warm in temperatures of about 6C.

Power and water have been cut off, and the road to the local airport is reported to have been blocked by landslides.

The remote high-altitude region is prone to earthquakes, but officials from the US Geological Survey said this was the strongest quake within 100km of the area since 1976.

The region, which is home to Tibetan farmers and herdsmen, is dotted with coal, tin, lead and copper mines.

Yushu is roughly half-way between Xining and Lhasa, about 200km from the Qinghai-Tibet railway line.

After the Sichuan quake, five million people were left homeless, and officials estimated rebuilding work would take at least three years.

The government later punished people who had compiled lists of the victims and had suggested shoddy school-building was partly to blame for the high death toll.
-
------

[Pathfinder]

Re: 6.9-magnitude earthquake strikes China

China: Earthquake Information bulletin n? 01

Source: International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

Date: 14 Apr 2010
Full_Report (pdf* format - 749.7 Kbytes)

GLIDE No. EQ-2010-000073-CHN

This bulletin is being issued for information only, and reflects the current situation and details available at this time. The Red Cross Society of China is not seeking funding or other assistance from donors at this time.

Summary: A 7.1- magnitude earthquake in China's Qinghai Province has killed at least 400 people and injured a further 10,000 people. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), this is the strongest quake to have hit the remote mountainous area since 1976.

The Situation

An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale has hit northwest China's Qinghai Province at 07:49 local time on 14 April 2010 (23:49 GMT on 13 April 2010). Its epicentre is calculated to be 33.1 north and 96.7 east, which is about 50 km away from the Jiegu Township, the government seat of the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu, and about 800 km away from Xining, the Qinghai provincial capital. Eighteen aftershocks were recorded with the largest one registering a magnitude of 6.3, about an hour and 36 minutes after the earthquake.

Latest official statements are that 400 people were reported dead while some 10,000 were injured but these figures are expected to rise. Many remain buried under the debris and at least one school collapsed, causing the deaths of five school children. Electricity, water and communication are completely cut off, although air transportation has been established from Xining.

An official of the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu has told Xinhua news that more than 85 per cent of the houses in Jiegu Township have collapsed. Many houses are built with wood and earthen walls, which are more likely to collapse in a strong tremor. Jiegu has a population of about 100,000 with both permanent residents and migrant workers. While much of the area is sparsely populated, it is estimated that the quake will have heavy casualties as the epicentre was so close to Jiegu and it hit in the early morning when many were inside their homes.

The Chinese government has immediately sent an assessment team while relief teams from Qinghai province and the neighbouring Tibet Autonomous Region were deployed to the affected area. The excavation process is hindered by limited equipment in the area and difficult road conditions.

<!--body--><!--Attention ligne utilis?e pour l'impression--><!-- START BOTTOM Attachments links -->
Full_Report (pdf* format - 749.7 Kbytes)

<!-- END BOTTOM Attachments links -->

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MDCS-84HDKR?OpenDocument

[Pathfinder]

Re: 6.9-magnitude earthquake strikes China

Latest Earthquakes M5.0+ in the World - Past 7 days


Latest Earthquakes Magnitude 5.0 and Greater in the World - Last 7 days




Update time = Wed Apr 14 15:53:05 UTC 2010


<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=1 border=0><TBODY><TR><TH></TH><TH align=middle>MAG </TH><TH align=middle>UTC DATE-TIME
y/m/d h:m:s
</TH><TH align=middle>LAT
deg
</TH><TH align=middle>LON
deg
</TH><TH align=middle>DEPTH
km
</TH><TH>Region</TH></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>MAP</TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>5.0 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>2010/04/14 08:16:24 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>31.799 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>140.033 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>108.1 </TD><TD vAlign=top>IZU ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>MAP</TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>5.0 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>2010/04/14 05:16:17 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>18.204 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>-101.356 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>71.8 </TD><TD vAlign=top>GUERRERO, MEXICO</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>MAP</TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>5.8 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>2010/04/14 01:25:15 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>33.179 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>96.448 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>4.0 </TD><TD vAlign=top>SOUTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>MAP</TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>5.1 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>2010/04/14 01:16:59 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>-29.052 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>61.352 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>10.0 </TD><TD vAlign=top>SOUTHWEST INDIAN RIDGE</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>MAP</TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>5.0 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>2010/04/14 00:18:30 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>17.971 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>145.429 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>193.6 </TD><TD vAlign=top>ALAMAGAN REG., NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>MAP</TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>5.2 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>2010/04/14 00:12:25 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>33.030 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>96.560 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>10.0 </TD><TD vAlign=top>SOUTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>MAP</TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>5.3 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>2010/04/14 00:01:17 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>32.693 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>96.872 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>10.0 </TD><TD vAlign=top>SOUTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><HR><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=1 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>MAP</TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>6.9 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>2010/04/13 23:49:38 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>33.271 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>96.629 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>10.0 </TD><TD vAlign=top>SOUTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>MAP</TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>5.0 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=middle>2010/04/13 21:40:00 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>33.183 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>96.623 </TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap align=right>18.9 </TD><TD vAlign=top>SOUTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_big.php

[Treyfish]

Re: 6.9-magnitude earthquake strikes China

Quake in western China kills 600
(AP)

14 April 2010
BEIJING ? Soldiers and civilians used shovels and their bare hands to dig through collapsed buildings in search of survivors after strong earthquakes struck a mountainous Tibetan region of China on Wednesday, killing at least 600 people and injuring more than 10,000.
The series of quakes flattened buildings across remote western Yushu county and sent survivors, many bleeding from their wounds, flooding into the streets of Jiegu township. State television showed block after devastated block of toppled mud and wood homes. Local officials said 85 percent of the structures had been destroyed. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
Residents and troops garrisoned in the town used shovels and their hands to pull survivors and bodies from the rubble much of the day. Several schools collapsed, with the state news agency saying at least 56 students died. Worst hit was the Yushu Vocational School, where Xinhua cited a local education official as saying 22 students died. <o:p></o:p>
Footage on Qinghai Satellite TV showed bodies wrapped in blankets lying on the ground while rescuers pulled shards of concrete from a pancaked school building. <o:p></o:p>
Crews set up emergency generators to restore operations at Yushu?s airport, and by late afternoon the first of six flights landed carrying rescue workers and equipment. But the road to town was blocked by a landslide, hampering the rescue as temperatures dropped below freezing. Tens of thousands of the town?s 70,000 people were without shelter, state media said. <o:p></o:p>
?The situation here is difficult. Most of the buildings have collapsed. A lot of people are seriously injured,? said Pu Wu, a director of the Jinba Project, which provides health care training for Tibetan communities. ?We are scared. We are all camping outside and waiting for more tents to come.? <o:p></o:p>
While China?s military is well-practiced in responding to disasters, the remote location posed logistical difficulties. The area sits at around 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) and is poor. Most people live in Jiegu, with the remaining ? mostly herders ? scattered across the broad valleys. The small airport has no refueling supplies, so relief flights were carrying extra jet fuel, reducing their capacity for hauling supplies, state media reported. <o:p></o:p>
The local quake relief headquarters put the death toll at 589 and the injured at 10,000 by early Thursday morning, according to the Xinhua news agency. Wu Yong, commander of the army garrison, said the deaths ?may rise further as lots of houses collapsed.? Hospitals were overwhelmed, and rescue teams were slowed by damaged roads, strong winds and frequent aftershocks. <o:p></o:p>
Luo Song, a monk from a monastery in Yushu county, said his sister who worked at an orphanage told him three children were sent to a hospital but the facilities http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displaya...ernational&col=<o:p></o:p>

[Treyfish]

Re: 6.9-magnitude earthquake strikes China

China quake kills nearly 600 Source: Reuters<!--Spacer-->Houses destroyed after an earthquake hit the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu, Qinghai Province
A strong earthquake toppled hundreds of homes and some schools in the remote mountainous Tibetan Plateau of southwest China on Wednesday, killing nearly 600 people and injuring thousands, according to the BBC.

Hundreds of troops have been dispatched to Qinghai Province's Yushu county and some aid shipments from private organisations have set off from the provincial capital, Xining.
Photos showed larger concrete buildings mostly intact, with rubble around them. At least five people have also died in neighbouring Gansu province, Xinhua said.

"I see injured people everywhere. The biggest problem now is that we lack tents, we lack medical equipment, medicine and medical workers," Zhuohuaxia, a local spokesman, told the Xinhua news agency.

More than 10,000 people were injured and thousands left homeless in freezing conditions after a series of quakes and aftershocks caused many of the low, mud-brick buildings in county to collapse, residents and state media said.

A dam has "cracked", Xinhua said, and "workers are trying to prevent the outflow of water". It was not immediately clear how large the dam was or what damage it could cause if it burst.

The main 6.9 quake was centered in the mountains that divide Qinghai province from the Tibet Autonomous Region.

"People are very scared," said Pierre Deve, with Snowland Service Group, a local non-government organisation, adding that many had already given up hope for those still trapped.

Some bridges and roads around Yushu have cracked or been cut off completely, which could complicate rescue efforts, state television said. The airport is open, but the road connecting it to the county seat has been heavily damaged, it added.

The Tibetan plateau is regularly shaken by earthquakes, though casualties are usually minimal because so few people live there.

Yushu is home to some 100,000 people, spread over a vast area, but the quake struck near the relatively highly-populated county seat of Jyeku.

Government officials told state media the majority of houses had been badly damaged.


President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have demanded no effort be spared in rescue attempts, and sent Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu to Qinghai to oversee relief work, state television said.

Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who was born in Qinghai, said in a statement he was praying for the victims.

"It is my hope that all possible assistance and relief work will reach these people. I am also exploring how I, too, can contribute to these efforts," said the Nobel Peace Prize winner, accused by Beijing of promoting Tibetan independence.

He says he simply wants more meaningful autonomy for Tibet.

Some schools collapse, most students escape

Xinhua reported that the early morning quake had caused some schools and part of a government office building to cave in. Some vocational school students and primary school students were trapped in the rubble, it said, although residents said most students had been able to flee to playgrounds.

"Most of the schools in Yushu were built fairly recently and should have been able to withstand the earthquake," said Wang Liling, a volunteer worker for Gesanghua, a Chinese charity that helps school children in Qinghai. Her group, she said, had heard that a vocational school collapsed in Yushu.

"Many homes have been damaged, but we'll have to wait until this evening, when our staff arrive there, to understand anything specific."

Xinhua quoted one teacher, identified only by his surname Chang, at an Yushu primary school who said five of their pupils had died when the buildings collapsed.

"Morning sessions did not begin when the quake happened. Some pupils ran out of dorms alive, and those who had not escaped in time were buried," Chang said.

The widespread collapse of school buildings when other surrounding buildings stayed standing, caused anger and accusations of corruption after the devastating May 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province, which killed 80,000.

"A lot of one-storey houses have collapsed. Taller buildings have held up, but there are big cracks in them," resident Talen Tashi said.

People from the Yushu prefecture highway department were frantically trying to dig out colleagues trapped in a collapsed building, department official Ji Guodong said by telephone.

"The homes are built with thick walls and are strong, but if they collapsed they could hurt many people inside," Zhuo De said by phone from Xining after contacting his family in Yushu.

The quake was centered in the mountains that divide Qinghai province from the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The foothills to the south and east of the area are home to herders and Tibetan monasteries of Yushu county, while the area to the north and west is arid and desolate.

The quake was centred 240 km north northwest of Qamdo in Tibet and 375 km south southeast of the mining town of Golmud in Qinghai, and had a depth of 10 km, the United States Geological Service said. http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/china-q...ly-600-3464040

[sharon sanders]

Re: 6.9-magnitude earthquake strikes China

Yushu in Qinghai Province 7.1 earthquake has caused 617 people were killed and live
News: [Wen Jiabao arrived in Yushu] [100 000 victims requiring placement] [need tents, medicines lack of rescue machine]
Site: [Comparison of before and after the earthquake] [Yushu is like a battlefield after the earthquake] [victims in settlements to sleep the night]
Disaster: [a village was razed to the ground] [200 Yu Xuesheng or are still buried] [water and power all interrupts]
Thousands of victims in the playground of water and food, sleeping only support 2 days
Rescue: [set up emergency headquarters allocated 200 million yuan central] [disaster relief forces rescued more than 1,000 people]
Action: [Tencent first charity to donate 2 million yuan hit] [Tencent appeal to support the disaster areas in Qinghai]
Today's topic: disaster doomsday panic do not have frequent
Analysis: [rescue facing many adverse shocks need to prevent] [Tibet Plateau on the rescue is a challenge]
Comment: [Please enable professionals to first reduce the casualties] [take reasonable security and orderly deployment of the rescue]

http://news.qq.com/a/20100415/003014.htm

[Pathfinder]

Re: 6.9 -magnitude earthquake strikes China - 617 Dead

Bodies pile up after quake kills 600-plus in China

By ANITA CHANG (AP) ? 1 hour ago

JIEGU, China ? Rescue teams fought gusty winds and altitude sickness Thursday as survivors faced a second night outside in freezing weather after strong earthquakes left more than 600 dead and 9,000 hurt in a mountainous Tibetan area of western China.

Rescuers, tired from the high winds and thin oxygen, pulled survivors and more bodies from the pulverized remains of the town flattened by Wednesday morning's quake, the largest of which was magnitude 6.9.

About 15,000 houses have collapsed.

"We've seen too many bodies and now they're trying to deal with them.

The bodies are piled up like a hill. You can see bodies with broken arms and legs and it breaks your heart," said Dawa Cairen, a Tibetan who works for the Christian group the Amity Foundation and was helping in rescue efforts. "You can see a lot of blood. It's flowing like a river."

Grim pictures emerged from several collapsed schools that were the focus of early rescue efforts. Footage on state television and photos posted online showed bodies laid out near the rubble, and the Xinhua News Agency quoted a local education official as saying 66 children and 10 teachers had died, mostly in three schools.

Just after dusk, about 20 Buddhist monks in burgundy robes and their friends sat by a pile of smoldering rubble where the Jieji temple used to be. Next to them lay the body of a middle-aged monk, covered in a blanket wrapped by an elastic cord with his foot sticking out. Four other bodies were in a nearby car.

"We've come to bring their bodies home," said layman Silang Pingcuo, who came with the others by motorcycle from neighboring Tibet.

As roads were cleared and the nearby airport put into operation, relief operations quickened Thursday with more than 10,000 soldiers, police, firefighters and medical workers now in Yushu county, where Jiegu is located, said Zou Ming, director of disaster relief with the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

It appeared China was turning down offers of help from foreign rescue teams. Zou said the affected area was limited. "So we do have enough rescue teams," he told a news conference in Beijing, adding the offers of help were appreciated.

Zou said that 617 died in the quake, with 313 missing and more than 9,100 hurt.

/.../


<TABLE id=ss cellSpacing=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>

</TD></TR><TR><TD id=ss-caption colSpan=3>Map locates Qinghai province, China, site of a 6.9-magnitude earthquake

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TABLE id=ss cellSpacing=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>

</TD></TR><TR><TD id=ss-caption colSpan=3>Chinese men remove a dead body recovered after earthquakes struck Jiegu township, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the epicenter, in Yushu county in western China's Qinghai province Thursday, April 15, 2010.(AP photo)

<TABLE id=ss cellSpacing=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>

</TD></TR><TR><TD id=ss-caption colSpan=3>In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a car is buried under the rubble after an earthquake in Yushu County, northwest China's Qinghai Province, Wednesday, April 14, 2010.

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TABLE id=ss cellSpacing=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>

</TD></TR><TR><TD id=ss-caption colSpan=3>In this photo taken Wednesday, April 14, 2010, survivors emerge in an open area, surrounded by collapsed buildings, after an earthquake at Jiegu township in Yushu county, western China's Qinghai province.(AP Photo)

<TABLE id=ss cellSpacing=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>

</TD></TR><TR><TD id=ss-caption colSpan=3>Rescue workers pull out a person from a collapsed building in Yushu county in western China's Qinghai province on Wednesday, April 14, 2010.(AP Photo)

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
More at:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gdspdDB0WaMv_An4A-NvHB_DwmCwD9F3HKRO0

[Shiloh]

Re: 6.9 -magnitude earthquake strikes China - 617 Dead

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ch...ovince/607336/

Chinese officials warn of plague in quake-hit province

Posted: Friday , Apr 16, 2010 at 1425 hrs Beijing:

Chinese health experts have warned of a possible outbreak of diseases, especially the fatal pneumonic plague in quake-hit Qinghai province.

Given that Qinghai has seen a sporadic rise in cases of the pneumonic plague in recent years, surveillance over the epidemic, which is passed on to humans by marmots, has been strengthened to work out and implement effective measures to avert potential outbreaks...

[sharon sanders]

Re: 6.9 -magnitude earthquake strikes China - 617 Dead

Tibetans mourn dead as China quake toll hits 791
16 Apr 2010 09:53:30 GMT


<!-- 16 Apr 2010 09:53:30 GMT ## for search indexer, do not remove --> Source: Reuters



<!-- AN5.0 article title end --> <script language="JavaScript" src="http://www.alertnet.org/bin/js/article.js"></script> <input value="13" name="CurrentSize" id="CurrentSize" type="hidden"> <!-- Tibetans mourn dead as China quake toll hits 791 --> <!-- Reuters --> * Official death toll climbs to 791, locals say many more * Some survivors angry at delays in relief deliveries * A few people still being found alive in the rubble * Premier visits quake town, President to return from Brazil (Recasts, adds angry survivors, government comment) By Chris Buckley and Royston Chan YUSHU, China, April 16 (Reuters) - Tibetans mourned dead relatives on Friday from an earthquake that killed nearly 800 people in remote western China, as rescue crews found a handful of survivors and homeless residents complained of aid delays.

more....

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/TOE63F03M.htm

[Pathfinder]

Re: 6.9 -magnitude earthquake strikes China - 791 Dead

<CITE class=vcard>Flood of aid reaches China's remote quake zone

</CITE>
<CITE class=vcard> <CITE class=caption>AP ? In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Hu Jintao, front right</CITE></CITE>
<CITE class=vcard></CITE>
<CITE class=vcard>By ANITA CHANG, Associated Press Writer Anita Chang, Associated Press Writer </CITE>? <ABBR class=timedate title=2010-04-18T10:29:52-0700>Sun Apr 18, 1:29 pm ET</ABBR>
<!-- end .byline -->
JIEGU, China ? China said Sunday that a flood of badly needed aid had finally reached this quake-shattered town, including enough food and shelter for tens of thousands of suddenly homeless, though some complained chaotic distribution meant it wasn't reaching everyone in need.

The surge in aid coincided with the arrival of Chinese President Hu Jintao, who cut short an official trip to South America to deal with the disaster in this remote Tibetan region where residents have frequently chafed under Chinese rule. The quake Wednesday killed 1,706 people and injured 12,128.

The president's carefully scripted trip included visits with displaced families living in tents and rescue teams as they dug through debris looking for the 256 still missing. He promised that the Communist Party and the government was doing everything they could to help the mostly Tibetan quake victims. Tibetan anger over political and religious restrictions and perceived economic exploitation by the majority Han Chinese have sometimes erupted in violence.

China Central Television showed Hu sitting with a Tibetan middle school student at a field hospital and comforting her as she wept. Her right arm was bandaged and supported by a sling.

"Rest assured, you will have a full recovery," he told the girl. "You will have a bright future. Grandpa will be thinking of you."
Hu and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who visited Jiegu on Thursday, have both cultivated compassionate, grandfatherly images in a bid to portray the leadership as putting people first.

Hu was the party boss of Tibet, which neighbors Qinghai province where the earthquake struck, from 1988 to 1992 and has a mixed reputation among ethnic Tibetans. A hardline governor, he oversaw the imposition of martial law in Tibet in 1989 after anti-government violence erupted there.

As the country's top leader, he has maintained a firm line on dissent while also championing policies that have funneled billions of dollars in aid and investment to Tibetan areas.

On Sunday, after days of sleeping in makeshift shelters, with ice forming on blankets during the frigid nights, nearly all survivors finally had proper tents and enough food and clean water to last at least a few days.

The sudden bounty appeared to come in the nick of time. Relief workers had warned that Jiegu was teetering on the edge of unrest, with people fighting over tents and other limited goods. Bottlenecks on the winding mountain road that links Jiegu to the provincial capital of Xining ? normally a 12-hour drive ? were blamed for the earlier trickle of supplies.
Zou Ming, head of disaster relief at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, told a news conference in Beijing that most survivors now had tents, basic food and clean water.

Government-issued blue tents that were sparsely dotted around town in recent days popped up in abundance on Sunday. Some families set them up next to the ruins of their flattened mud brick homes. Others pitched theirs on a horse racing track turned refugee camp, the largest of several tent cities in Jiegu.

/.../

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100418/ap_on_re_as/as_china_earthquake_95

[Pathfinder]

Re: 6.9 -magnitude earthquake strikes China - 791 Dead

China's Hu flies in to quake site, toll tops 1,700

Royston Chan and Chris
BuckleyYUSHU, China


Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:10am EDT

Reuters) - President Hu Jintao flew to China's remote and ruined Yushu county to speed relief distribution on Sunday, as Tibetan monks prayed over victims of an earthquake in the northwest that killed at least 1,706 people.

"Saving life remains the first priority. We treasure every life and at the same time we should ensure victims regain a normal life," Hu told Phoenix
TV before visiting a classroom at a local orphanage.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Saturday asked Beijing if he could also visit the site to comfort victims.

The official Xinhua news agency reported earlier on Sunday a 68-year-old man had been rescued alive after 100 hours under the rubble but later withdrew the report. It gave no further details.

Hundreds of military trucks, joined by convoys organized by private aid groups, rolled across the 1,000 km (620 miles) from the provincial capital to Gyegu, the Yushu county seat where survivors are increasingly desperate for food and shelter.

They queued for food and fuel, clutching bowls or jerry cans.
/.../

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63H04A20100418

[Pathfinder]

Re: 6.9 -magnitude earthquake strikes China - at least 1944 people killed

3 rescued, 5 days after China quake killed 2,000

By ANITA CHANG (AP) ? 2 hours ago

JIEGU, China ? Relatives kept alive a 4-year-old girl and an elderly woman trapped by an earthquake under a collapsed house for almost a week by using bamboo poles to push water and rice through the rubble until rescuers saved them Monday.

The rare good news came as the death toll in China's remote Tibetan region jumped to nearly 2,000.

Rescuers also freed a third person Monday from the rubble of a hillside house that toppled when the magnitude-6.9 temblor struck Yushu county of Qinghai province Wednesday morning, state broadcaster China Central Television reported.

The death toll from the quake climbed to 1,944, while more than 12,100 people were hurt, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Relief and reconstruction work accelerated, with power and telecommunications services largely restored and aid convoys arriving in droves.

The rescue of Wujian Cuomao, 68, and Cairen Baji, 4, from a crumbled home in a village about 13 miles (20 kilometers) from the hardest-hit town of Jiegu was hailed by state media as a miracle and repeatedly played on television news broadcasts.

Footage showed workers in orange suits and safety helmets lifting the bewildered-looking white-haired woman onto a stretcher and into an ambulance. The visibly tired child lay wrapped in a blanket in the arms of a rescuer. Debris had pressed down on the girl's chest, CCTV said, but she suffered no injuries. The report said the woman's life was not in danger.

The woman and child were protected by a wooden bed frame, which they huddled under as the house fell to pieces around them. A young woman CCTV said was a relative pointed to an 8-inch (20-centimeter) gap between the floor and a corner of the broken bed frame.

"When the earthquake happened the house fell and they were buried under here," said the woman, whose name was not given. "We sent them food every day."


CCTV reported relatives used bamboo poles to push water and rice through the narrow gap to the trapped pair. Also Monday, rescuers freed a Tibetan woman named Ritu from her collapsed house on a hillside, CCTV said. Half her body had been trapped by the debris, the report said, but her vital signs were stable.

In Jiegu, thousands of Tibetan Buddhist monks picked at rubble with shovels, performed funeral rites and threw food to survivors from the backs of trucks.

Efforts were shifting toward rebuilding to help the tens of thousands left homeless in the elevated area where temperatures can hit lows of 27 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 3 degrees Celsius). Forecasts of snow in coming days could hinder relief efforts, state media said.

Convoys of military supply trucks were at a standstill, backed up for miles (kilometers) on the main road heading into town. At a supply depot set up on the town's edge, huge stacks of bottled water were piled up outside a warehouse. More relief goods rumbled past mountainside hamlets where residents pitched government-provided tents along a two-lane highway that is the only connection between Jiegu and the provincial capital of Xining, the nearest big city.

The surge in aid came as President Hu Jintao, who visited the area Sunday, promised the Communist Party and government were doing everything they could to help the remote Tibetan region, where residents have frequently chafed under Chinese rule. Tibetan anger over political and religious restrictions and perceived economic exploitation by the majority Han Chinese have sometimes erupted in violence.

In a sign of tensions, Jia Qinglin, China's top parliamentary adviser and the Communist Party's No. 4 ranking leader, warned at a meeting Monday of "hostile forces from abroad working to cause disruptions and sabotage" to the disaster-relief effort, CCTV reported.
/.../

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gdspdDB0WaMv_An4A-NvHB_DwmCwD9F68G8G0

[sharon sanders]

Re: 6.9 -magnitude earthquake strikes China - at least 1,944 people killed

Snow forecast promises more misery for China quake survivors


19 Apr 2010 16:57:00 GMT

<!-- 19 Apr 2010 16:57:00 GMT
## for search indexer, do not remove --> Written by: Katie Nguyen

<!-- AN5.0 article title end --> <!-- START: inline article box -->
An ethnic Tibetan girl boils water in front of a tent after her house was destroyed by the earthquake in Gyegu town, Qinghai province April 17, 2010. REUTERS/Alfred Jin

<!-- AN5.0: inline article box end --> <script language="JavaScript" src="http://www.alertnet.org/bin/js/article.js"></script> <input value="13" name="CurrentSize" id="CurrentSize" type="hidden"> <!-- Snow forecast promises more misery for China quake survivors --> <!-- Katie Nguyen --> <!-- blog ## for search indexer, do not remove -->
LONDON (AlertNet) - China's earthquake survivors are in desperate need of blankets and proper shelter to guard against freezing temperatures with snow expected to bring more misery in the next few days, aid workers said. The strongest quake to hit the area since 1976 has killed almost 2,000 people and left tens of thousands homeless in the mountainous Tibetan plateau in southwest China. The 6.9-magnitude quake struck on April 14, toppling buildings and damaging roads. "Based on our initial assessment of the quake area, we see that people have set up tents but there are not enough," said Meimei Leung, who is leading World Vision's assessment team. "We still see people camping out in the open, and at night there is no electricity so people are lighting fires to keep warm," Leung added.

more....

http://www.alertnet.org/db/an_art/57964/2010/03/19-165752-1.htm