Quake toll 188 as rescue efforts hit by aftershocks
Source: Xinhua/Shanghai Daily |
April 22, 2013, Monday
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Print Edition
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Continual aftershocks and insufficient relief supplies are hampering the rescue efforts in southwest China's Sichuan, 36 hours after a powerful earthquake hit the province.
The latest statistics show that at least 188 people have been confirmed dead and more than 1.5 million affected as of last night.
Rescuers are racing against the "critical first 72 hours after the disaster" to comb the quake rubble and reach every household in the epicenter of Lushan and its neighboring counties affected by the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that jolted the city of Ya'an early on Saturday.
Over 1,700 aftershocks had been monitored in Lushan as of 10pm, with the strongest measuring 5.4-magnitude, making the already ramshackle houses even more dangerous and the rescue efforts more life-threatening.
A rescue excavator plunged off a 300-meter deep cliff yesterday morning in Ya'an's quake-hit Baoxing County.
The number of casualties remained unknown last night.
As of 5pm, traffic had resumed on the road linking Baoxing to its neighboring counties of Lushan and Xiaojin and the city of Dujiangyan, resuming transportation of the stranded relief supplies to the county after its 33 hours' post-quake isolation, according to Sichuan's transportation department.
The road is dubbed as the relief "lifeline" by rescuers.
Several rescue teams managed to reach Baoxing, which has a population of 60,000 and had remained hard to access after the quake. At least 26 residents have been confirmed dead with another 2,500 injured as of yesterday morning, according to county head Ma Jun.
"The top priority is to save lives," said Ma. "Meanwhile, we'll resettle the residents and reopen roads."
A total of 40,000 Baoxing residents are waiting to be relocated as most houses in Lingguan Township and Daxi Village in the county have suffered damage.
Airborne remote sensing images showed that more than 60 percent of buildings in the county seat had suffered damage.
Power supplies have been restored in only a few villages in Baoxing, the most part of which is still shrouded in darkness.
"The Lushan County center is getting back to normal, but the need is still considerable in terms of shelter and materials," Kevin Xia of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told Reuters.
"Supplies have had difficulty getting into the region because of the traffic jams. Most of our supplies are still on the way."
At Lushan People's Hospital, a steady stream of ambulances continued to arrive in the early hours of yesterday. Most victims were taken to tents erected in the grounds of the hospital, where doctors treated the injured.
A 68-year-old woman with a broken arm spoke of the terror she experienced.
"It was as if the mountain was alive," she told AFP. "Now I have no home to go to. So I don't know what I am going to do."
Armed forces involved in the relief mission have been ordered to reach every village and all households in the affected areas to rescue survivors and treat the injured, the rescue headquarters of the Chengdu Military Area Command said.
A total of 18,000 soldiers and officers from China's military and armed police forces and members of paramilitary reserve forces have been sent to the affected areas, and so far 10,000 have reached areas which are seriously stricken.
The latest statistics show that at least 188 people have been confirmed dead and more than 1.5 million affected as of last night.
Rescuers are racing against the "critical first 72 hours after the disaster" to comb the quake rubble and reach every household in the epicenter of Lushan and its neighboring counties affected by the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that jolted the city of Ya'an early on Saturday.
Over 1,700 aftershocks had been monitored in Lushan as of 10pm, with the strongest measuring 5.4-magnitude, making the already ramshackle houses even more dangerous and the rescue efforts more life-threatening.
A rescue excavator plunged off a 300-meter deep cliff yesterday morning in Ya'an's quake-hit Baoxing County.
The number of casualties remained unknown last night.
As of 5pm, traffic had resumed on the road linking Baoxing to its neighboring counties of Lushan and Xiaojin and the city of Dujiangyan, resuming transportation of the stranded relief supplies to the county after its 33 hours' post-quake isolation, according to Sichuan's transportation department.
The road is dubbed as the relief "lifeline" by rescuers.
Several rescue teams managed to reach Baoxing, which has a population of 60,000 and had remained hard to access after the quake. At least 26 residents have been confirmed dead with another 2,500 injured as of yesterday morning, according to county head Ma Jun.
"The top priority is to save lives," said Ma. "Meanwhile, we'll resettle the residents and reopen roads."
A total of 40,000 Baoxing residents are waiting to be relocated as most houses in Lingguan Township and Daxi Village in the county have suffered damage.
Airborne remote sensing images showed that more than 60 percent of buildings in the county seat had suffered damage.
Power supplies have been restored in only a few villages in Baoxing, the most part of which is still shrouded in darkness.
"The Lushan County center is getting back to normal, but the need is still considerable in terms of shelter and materials," Kevin Xia of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told Reuters.
"Supplies have had difficulty getting into the region because of the traffic jams. Most of our supplies are still on the way."
At Lushan People's Hospital, a steady stream of ambulances continued to arrive in the early hours of yesterday. Most victims were taken to tents erected in the grounds of the hospital, where doctors treated the injured.
A 68-year-old woman with a broken arm spoke of the terror she experienced.
"It was as if the mountain was alive," she told AFP. "Now I have no home to go to. So I don't know what I am going to do."
Armed forces involved in the relief mission have been ordered to reach every village and all households in the affected areas to rescue survivors and treat the injured, the rescue headquarters of the Chengdu Military Area Command said.
A total of 18,000 soldiers and officers from China's military and armed police forces and members of paramilitary reserve forces have been sent to the affected areas, and so far 10,000 have reached areas which are seriously stricken.
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