Another deadly earthquake in Sichuan

Shaken again

Apr 22nd 2013, by T.P. | BEIJING

AFTERSHOCKS, landslides, and shortages of relief supplies are hampering rescue efforts in China's south-western Sichuan province two days after Saturday's strong earthquake, which killed at least 186 people and injured thousands.

State television showed vivid images of rescuers working frantically—some with heavy equipment and others with bare hands—in the stricken area. Most of the damage was centred on Ya'an, a city of 1.5m located 140km (90 miles) south-west of Sichuan's provincial capital, Chengdu.

The earthquake was of magnitude 7.0, according to Chinese seismology officials, and struck just after 8am Saturday local time. The United States Geological Survey measured its magnitude at 6.6. Its epicentre was just 85 km away from that of a May 2008 earthquake that had a magnitude of 7.9 and a death toll ranging from 70,000-90,000 according to different estimates.

The official Xinhua news agency said that within 38 hours of the main tremor, more than 1,700 aftershocks had struck the area, posing additional threats to damaged structures and to rescue workers.

A main road was reported cleared by Sunday evening, restoring access to affected areas that had been cut off from aid.

Occurring in nearly the same place and at nearly the same time of year, Saturday's earthquake triggered inevitable comparisons to the 2008 disaster. It has also evoked a similar official response. Like his predecessor in 2008, China's new prime minister, Li Keqiang, promptly visited the disaster area.

"The current most urgent issue is grasping the first 24 hours after the quake's occurrence, the golden time for saving lives, to take scientific rescue measures and save peoples' lives," Mr Li reportedly said on his plane en route to the area. Officials say that in addition to food and water, they have distributed tens of thousands of tents, beds and quilts.

As in 2008, ordinary citizens have contributed their own efforts to the relief work. State television and foreign media reports say many have been going on their own into the disaster area to donate supplies.

Google, an American internet company, has also provided help, in the form of an online "person finder" tool where people can either seek or provide information about people in the area. The company says it is already tracking about 1,100 records.

An important and controversial element of the aftermath to the 2008 earthquake was the large number of children killed in collapsed school buildings. Parents and activists complained bitterly that corruption was to blame for the fact that school buildings were among the most shoddily built and quick to crumble. Within a year of the 2008 earthquake, officials acknowledged that 5,335 students had been killed or gone missing. Activists claim to have documented thousands of additional cases.

There has yet been little reporting from the Ya'an disaster area about how schools fared in comparison to other buildings. But such reporting is certain to emerge soon, and certain to attract a lot of attention.

(Photo credit: STR / AFP)

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