Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management

Crisis and Emergency Management

October 2008 Volume 15 - Number 1

International Disaster Update...

Update on Chinese Earthquake

By Elise Letanosky

On May 12^th an 8.0 magnitude earthquake (originally reported to be a 7.9 magnitude quake and later upgraded) struck Wenchuan County in the Sichuan Province, China. According to the Chinese government the earthquake left over 69,000 dead, almost 375,000 injured, and over 18,000 people missing. A reported 15 million people were displaced from their homes and a total of 45.69 million people were affected by the quake. Local radio in Sichuan quoted disaster relief officials as saying a third of the buildings in Wenchuan collapsed from the quake and another third were seriously damaged. At least 6 schools collapsed during the quake killing thousands of school children that were trapped inside. It was the worst natural disaster to strike China in over 30 years.

Rescue and aid efforts that followed the earthquake were complicated by heavy rains, flooding, landslides, deteriorated or destroyed roads, and the mountainous terrain of much of the affected area. At times soldiers had to travel by foot into areas that were inaccessible by other means. The Red Cross Society of China, coordinating some of the international aid efforts, encouraged financial donations because of the difficulty of getting supplies to those most in need.

The government's rapid response immediately following the disaster was widely praised but tensions grew between citizens and the Chinese government as efforts shift to focus on reconstruction. The BBC reports that Chinese officials had imposed tight security in some of the damaged areas, apparently to prevent protests in the weeks and months following the earthquake while questions rose over weather poorly constructed schools lead to the deaths of school children and weather reconstruction efforts were being handled properly.

The U.S. Geological Survey has reported more than 950 aftershocks to the May 12^th earthquake with the strongest one being a 6.0 magnitude quake on August 5^th. The August 5^th temblor struck the already devastated Sichuan province. It was a 6.2 magnitude which killed 2 people, seriously injuring 5 others, and destroyed more than 2,700 houses in Qingchuan country of Sichuan Province.

After the quake struck on May 12^th, the ground shook as far away as Beijing, which is 950 miles (1,528 km) from the epicenter. Residents of the Chinese capital, which hosts this year's Olympic Games in August, felt a quiet, rolling sensation for about a minute Thousands of people were evacuated from Beijing buildings immediately after the earthquake but no damage was done to any of the Olympic construction.