Persistent Report III: 7.0-Magnitude Quake Hits Sichuan

Today is the seventh day after earthquake. The heavy seven days, and it's the Sichuan mouming day.

Chapter Three

Public mourning held for quake victims

Public mourning was held on Saturday morning in Sichuan for those who died in a 7.0-magnitude quake a week ago. Death toll from the quake in Lushan county, Sichuan province, has risen to 196, with 13483 injured.

A Flower is Placed in Honor of the Victims 

The public mourning began with all transportation vehicles sounding their sirens at 8:02 am, the time the devastating earthquake hit on April 20, and was followed by a silent tribute of 3 minutes.

The quake has claimed nearly 200 lives and destroyed about 126,000 homes, according to official figures.

On Friday, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said in a statement that 1,516 wounded people, including 43 terminally-ill patients and 69 severe cases, are being treated in hospital in Sichuan.

More than 1.5 billion yuan ($243 million) has been allocated to quake victims, with 10 yuan and 0.5 kilograms of grain distributed daily to each person.

Rescue Soldiers Mourn for the Victims

More than 87,000 tents, 233,000 quilts, 25,000 items of clothing and 3,393 tons of food have been provided by local governments. And 426 medical centers and 1,015 relocation sites have been set up as of Friday.

China's beverage maker JDB Group has announced a donation of 100 million yuan to Lushan, the largest donation thus far from any company in China.

Shu Yuhui, chairman of the Quan Jian Natural Medicine Science and Technology Development Co Ltd, also made a donation of 100 million yuan, making it the largest individual contribution for earthquake relief efforts.

Persistent Report II: 7.0-Magnitude Quake Hits Sichuan

Today is the third day after earthquake. casualty figures are increasing, rescue efforts are strengthened. How is Sichuan now?

Chapter Two

Latest Condition of Earthquake

A total of 3,244 aftershocks have been recorded as of 6:00 am Tuesday, said China Earthquake Administration. There were 100 aftershocks above 3.0-magnitude, including four between 5.0 and 5.9 magnitude and 21 between 4.0 and 4.9 magnitude. Death toll from the quake in Lushan county, Sichuan province, has risen to 192, with 23 missing and more than 11,000 injured.

Wounded are treating

The death toll in Baoxing — the only isolated county after Saturday's earthquake due to telecommunication failures, power shortages and damaged roads — had reached 26 by 10 pm on Monday, with 18 still missing, 2,500 wounded, 86 of which in severe condition, and 58,000 other people affected, according to figures released by the local government.

                                                            Rescue

1. Rival Web Firms Join Hands. Baidu, the country's largest search engine, launched a platform on Monday that aggregates information to help track missing people. The information was previously scattered on seven websites launched by different Internet companies, such as Renren, a Facebook-like social network, and Qihoo 360 Technologies, a Beijing-based Internet firm.

More than 17,000 pieces of information have been added to the platform, attracting about 245 million views from users by 3 pm on Monday, about four hours after its launch, Baidu said.

The platform is expected to save time and be a big help for those who otherwise would have to go to at least the seven websites.

Rescuers are Going Forward to Baoxing Country

2. Foreign motorcyclists give helping hand. For motorcyclists Brendan Frentz and Michael Kleinert, the friendship between them and Li Yongchao started with a ride following the devastating earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan province.

 

On hearing about the quake on Saturday, the two decided to join volunteers on Frentz's second-hand red motorbike in Ya'an city, where they ran into Li, who was rushing home to check on his family. The anxiety on Li's face encouraged the pair to offer him a ride.

3. 19,000 soldiers, officers dispatched to quake zone. A total of 19,000 soldiers and officers from China's military and armed police forces have been sent to quake-hit areas in Sichuan province, rushing to find survivors while helping resettle 24,000 locals.

Two Volunteers Give Children an English Class

4. Volunteer team helping students find sense of normalcy. Canadian volunteer Frentz, 22, along with 14 other students and three teachers from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in the provincial capital of Chengdu, set up a class for children temporarily placed at the school, the largest shelter in Lushan county.

The class has two sessions a day: from 9:30 to 11:30 am and from 2:30 to 4:30 pm.

Besides spoken English, the temporary school also provides psychological counseling, a sanitary and earthquake protection course, as well as basic finance curricula to students.

Persistent Report I: 7.0-magnitude quake hits Sichuan

Chapter One

Latest Condition of earthquake

Lushan Country before Earthquake

M7.0 earthquake strikes Ya'an, Sichuan at 8:02 am, April, 20. For the moment, Death toll has risen to188in the 7.0-magnitude earthquake, twenty-five people are reported missing, and 11460 others have been injured. A lot of people and enterprise make donations to Ya'an, Sichuan. Lin Dan, two-time Olympic badminton champion, announced on his Tencent micro blog that he and his wife have donated 2.2 million yuan ($356,180).

Geography of Ya'an

Ya'an is located at the western edge of the Sichuan Basin and on the upper reaches of the

Lushan Country after Earthquake

Yangtze, covering the transition between the Chengdu Plain and the Tibetan Plateau. Ya'an has a population of 1.53 million and is known as the hometown of the giant panda. It is about 140 kilometers away from the provincial capital Chengdu City. The city is encircled by mountains, and four rivers flow through it. The epicenter, Lushan county, Ya'an city, Southwest China's province, with a depth of 13 kilometers, was monitored at 30.3 degrees north latitude and 103.0 degrees east longitude. 

Rescue

Premier Li Keqiang climbed onto a heap of debris to view the disaster area after arriving in Lushan county, Sichuan province, where he expressed condolences to victims and survivors of the earthquake. 

 

Premier Li Keqiang Consoles a Young Earthquake Victim

"We should put saving people first because people's lives are more precious than anything else. We should use scientific means, including using life detectors, to rescue every person who might survive," Li told reporters at the epicenter in Lushan on Sunday morning.

While visiting Zhang Ke, a seriously injured 8-year-old boy, Li leaned over and whispered: "Does it hurt? Don't be afraid. You will be fine."

Li urged local officials to check every house and make the utmost effort to save lives as long as there is one gleam of hope, deploy capable medical personnel to treat and cure the injured, and transfer seriously injured people quickly.