Friday, May 30, 2008

Crying Tibetans Need Earthquake Relief

source:
http://www.sina.com.cn 2008年05月30日12:07 广西新闻网-南国早报


Tibetan people living in Heishui, Sichuan Province are suffered from collapsed homes. The above picture shows the rubbles of homes at Wabo Town Yusagou Village. All 23 houses completely collapsed.

Some of these Tibetan people live in cottages on mountains. Their homes had no steel or cement. In Zhugeduo Village, Luhua Town, it was told that all 68 houses are severely damaged, some collapsed completely. Fortunately, most people are safe.

Some of them live in mountains at elevation of 2800 meters. There is no road here. Buying and shipping stones and woods plus construction would cost 100,000 RMB (>14,000 USD) per home. No one here could afford such a home.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Donation from a struggling company

http://justamp.blogspot.com/2008/05/motorola-continues-to-support-sichuan.html

Total donation reaches RMB 15 million

BEIJING, China - 21 May, 2008 – Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced additional donations in response to the alarming severity of the disaster which struck China’s Sichuan province just over a week ago, bringing the total cumulative amount to RMB15 million in cash donations, mobile networking equipment, mobile handsets and two way radios plus related onsite technical services for earthquake relief in Sichuan Province. Motorola employees in China and around the world are participating in the disaster relief effort by donating cash, matched by Motorola funds amounting to over RMB 4M. With over 10,000 employees in China and a presence in the country for over 20 years, Motorola is deeply saddened by this tragedy.

Since the deadly earthquake on May 12th, Motorola has worked with government organizations in Sichuan Province and major mobile operators to bring communications services to this grief stricken area. With its advanced technologies in emergency relief communications and telecom network systems, Motorola has provided emergency communications services in support of the earthquake relief work. The equipment donated by Motorola has reached related organizations and operators in Sichuan and is playing a key role in the relief efforts. Motorola will continue to work closely with employees, customers and partners to provide communications for areas hit by the earthquake.

Since entering China in 1987, Motorola has been committed to being a good corporate citizen in China. Its contribution and donations include Project Hope, flood relief in 1998, SARS and environmental protection, all of which are well recognized by the Chinese society.

Touching Slides: Heros

Made by anonymous people.



















Saturday, May 24, 2008

Donating Blood

In rain, people waiting in long lines to donate blood in Chengdu, Sichuan.
http://qzone.qq.com/blog/68445523-1210696938
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1521263384024718840



600 people donating blood in one company in Beijing. http://finance.sina.com.cn/chanjing/b/20080513/19084864175.shtml

Thursday, May 22, 2008

updated death toll

source: http://english.sina.com/china/1/2008/0522/162003.html

At a press conference at 10:30 (Beijing time) on May 23, vice governor of Sichuan Province Li Chengyun announced that the death toll increased to 55,239. In addition, 281,066 people were injured and 24,949 are still missing.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Kids

Students in a middle school in Mianyang.
Smiles of angels.
The girl in the middle is Qing Deng. Both her parents were killed in the tragedy.

blog.sina.com.cn

HEROS

HERO RONG YAN: Rong Yan, a teacher in Yingxiu Elementary School, saved 13 students and died. Below is her daughter Wenxin crying "save daddy, save mommy". But her mom can never be back. Her dad has been missing since the earthquake.
HERO QIANQIU TAN: Qianqiu Tan, Dongqi Middle School in Deyang, covered 4 students. The 4 students were saved but he died sadly. Below is his wife Guangrong Zhang cleaning his boby.



HERO QIAN XIANG: Qian Xiang, a teacher in Longju Elementary School, held and protected 3 students. The collapsed building broke her into three pieces.

Racing against time for life

At this moment in time, I really understand how precious life is, how precious time is. Please, act NOW!



Death toll rises to 28,881

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-05/17/content_6692631.htm

The death toll from the earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province has risen to 28,881 nationwide as of 2 pm Saturday, while 198,347 people were injured, according to the Information Office of the State Council.

A total of 15.61 million houses in quake areas were damaged nationwide, with 3.13 million collapsed.
As of 8 pm Friday, 116,460 injured people have been hospitalized, with 15,858 people in critical conditions.
Over 28,300 of the total deaths are in the Sichuan province. In its neighbouring regions, 364 were killed in Gansu, 109 in Shaanxi, 15 in Chongqing, 2 in Henan, one in Yunnan, and one in Hubei.
As of 11 am Saturday, 145 aftershocks measuring 4 or higher on the Richter scale had been monitored since May 12, Guo Weimin, an official of the Information Office, told a press conference Saturday afternoon. Quakes measuring above 5 on the Richter scale numbered 23.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

video: They never give up, neither do we

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0eoG6E8cno

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy8Coi27FQg&feature=related

Urgent Evacuation in Wenchuan

On May 17, people in Wenchuan received emergency evacuation order: the helicopter has spotted cracks in the dam of Chaping reservoir in Wenchuan County. Over 10,000 people had to evacuate to safe places.
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2008-05-17/182915561446.shtml


My loving baby, if you can survive, please remember I always love you

http://news.wenxuecity.com/messages/200805/news-gb2312-599686.html

While the Mother’s Day just passed, please allow me to use the following story to give a post salute to all the great mothers around the world!
_________________________________________________________________

When the rescuers found her (the mom), she was already dead, crushed by the collapsed house. Through all the debris, people can see her posture: both knees down, upper body forward with hands holding her body, like praying to the heaven. The rescuer pushed his hand in through the crevices to confirm her death. He again shouted and knocked the loose bricks with his tool, no response from inside.

The rescue team moved on to the next collapsed building. The team leader must feel the strange posture of the dead lady. He went back, checked again and shouted to his team: ”come back, there is a baby alive under her body!

After a hard try, they carefully cleared the debris around the dead woman. Lied under her body was her well-wrapped baby, about three or four month old. Because of her mother’s protection, he was not hurt at all. He was still sleeping when he was taken out. His quiet sleeping face really calmed people nearby. The doctor came over to perform the routine check and found out a cell phone tucked under his blanket. He took a look of the screen, an already written message is there: “my loving baby, if you can survive, please remember I always love you.” Even the Doctor, who is so used to seeing life and death, cried. The cell phone was passed along, and everybody reading the message cried.

Some Words from My Friends and from Websites

1. My heart is in bad pain and tears can not be stopped.
2. We will try our best to spread the links and news, donate what we can, bless the people in suffer and wish them safe and recover soon! Don't worry. People all over the world will united to bless and help the people in Sichuan!
3. I have many contacts around this area and if we can get more donations and prayers going to the affected areas, that would be fabulous. I wish that there was something more I could do.
4. I can't sleep without watching today's newest updates about the earthquake. Recently, I dreamed several times about the people in the earthquake area, suffering ...

From NPR:

i cant stop crying for this family. I am so sorry for all.
Sent by sarah | 7:48 AM ET | 05-14-2008

Mom is coming for you! I burst into years... I can't listen to your reports anymore. Rescue troops, hurry up, help our people!
Sent by J. Yang | 9:11 AM ET | 05-14-2008

oh how sad. I just couldn't stop crying. God please help them! May the victims rest in peace. Please care for the survivors and give strength to the rescuers.
Sent by Melody | 11:56 AM ET | 05-14-2008

How can all these people die in one moment without the people of the world feeling the loss in a physical wave of electric energy...like a light going out inside all of us? The image of this little toddler, found as he was, is heart-wrenching and too difficult to bear. As a mother, I am not sure how you cope with this. I can only pray he left this world without much pain or fear. My heart goes out to every victim in both China and Burma.
Sent by Jaime Ann | 12:23 PM ET | 05-14-2008

Thank you for the story. My eyes are full of tears. As a father of three young children, I know how much pain and suffer the parents have to go through; tragically, there are thousands of parents lost their beloved children, in most cases their only child, during this quake. Just wish life could be a little kind to them.
Sent by john | 12:44 PM ET | 05-14-2008

Thank you for being. Thank you for being a witness, a voice, a thread connecting us all. Your humanity is much appreciated. Rivers of tears for all beings who are suffering in China and across the globe.
Sent by Aimee Ledbetter | 1:35 PM ET | 05-14-2008

I am in tears after listening to Melissa Block's tremendous report on the air. The magnitude of grief of these poor parents is enormous enough; multiply it by the tens of thousands in China and Burma, and it is unimaginable. Let's do what we can to help, and love our own as if we may never see them again.
Sent by Texas listener | 5:24 PM ET | 05-14-2008

I have never cried while I listened to the radio before. While I couldn't understand a word Fu Guanyu said, her tones of fear, sadness, hope and finally despair spoke to me deeply. I felt as if I was there, crying with Fu and her husband. I wanted to dig with them to find their parents and young child. Your coverage made me feel if I had been transported to China or this couple was my next door neighbor. Thank you for telling their story and the story of the thousands of other Chinese people who have suffered through this natural disaster.
Sent by Michelle Butzgy | 5:31 PM ET | 05-14-2008

English News Websites about the Earthquake Coverage

http://english.sina.com/index.html

This website is dedicated for Sichuan earthquake coverage from the Chinese perspective
http://english.sina.com/z/080512sichuanquake/index.shtml

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/

American NPR (National Public Radio) crew in Sichuan
http://www.npr.org/blogs/chengdu/

Blog:
http://www.2008earthquake.org/

To donate:
1. MercyCorps China Earth Quake relief
http://www.mercycorps.org/chinaearthquake/?source=1062
2. International Red Cross:
http://www.ifrc.org/
3. American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/news/in/profiles/Intl_profile_ChinaEarthquake.html
tel: 800-435-7669
4. Red Cross Hongkong:
www.redcross.org.hk

Friday, May 16, 2008

Strong aftershock

There have been more than 4000 aftershocks. On 1:30 pm, May 16, a magnitude 6.5 aftershock struck Wenchuan again, causing landslides and blocking the roads to Wenchuan.

Source: sina.com.cn

Sad NPR story

http://www.npr.org/blogs/chengdu/2008/05/we_found_fu_guanyu_and.html

I heard this story from NPR while I was driving with my 5 year old child. My child kept asking why people had to cry and who was missing and what they were searching for. I had to tell her it was only a story, not real, just like the movies she had seen. Yes I really hope this story is not real, since it has no happy ending.

After many hours digging and all effort, Melisa Block told us the ending:

Wang Zhilu, two months shy of his second birthday, was found in the arms of his grandfather, with his grandmother holding onto her husband from behind. All three were dead - three among what are likely to be tens of thousands of people who perished in Monday's earthquake.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Glory of Humanitarian

In Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, 500 miles away from the epicenter, people gathered and prayed for those affected by the earthquake.

http://news.sina.com.cn/c/p/2008-05-15/170515547085.shtml


Chaohu, Anhui Province, people were donating blood.
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/p/2008-05-14/105915536450.shtml


Nanchong, Sichuan province. People donating blood. Nanchong suffered much less than some other cities in Sichuan. According to my dad, food and other materials in Nanchong markets have been sent to the devastated areas.
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/p/2008-05-13/120015529087.shtml



Chao Xu, an old homeless person living on begging donated all his money, 105 RMB (15 USD) in Jiangning District.
http://news.sina.com.cn/s/2008-05-16/052515550005.shtml
Rescuers are everywhere in Pingwu, Sichuan. They are from all places in China, some are more than a thousand miles away from Sichuan. http://news.sina.com.cn/s/2008-05-16/074015553924.shtml


Chongqing Emergency Medical Team, including 16 members, have not slept a wink for 42 hours. They have treated more than 600 people. Some members had to slap themselves to keep awake. Now they took boats and arrived at Yingxiu Town of Wenchuan County.
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2008-05-15/073613877685s.shtml


Some Donations (in USDs). These shall be remembered.

Formosa Plastics Corporation (Taiwan) 14,200k
Evergreen Group (Taiwan) 10,000k
Taiwan companies in total 457,142k
Taiwan government 285,714k

Saudi 60,000k

Japan >12,000k

Korea government 1,000k

GE (Korea) 2000k
Pfizer (US) 1420k
Hyundai (Korea) 1500k
Jonhson-Johnson (US) 1420k
Panasonic (Japan) 1420k
LG (Korea) 2420k


The struggling American company Motorola gave 285k USD as the initial donation. Its largest sector Mobile Devices lost 400 million USD for the first quarter in 2008. Motorola CEO Greg Brown sent an email to global employees to call for immediate donation through a dedicated website at http://american.redcross.org/
A couple of minutes after the email was sent, the website stopped working completely, most likely due to the heavy traffic caused by large amount of donation requests.

Foreign rescue and medical expert teams from Singapore, Japan, Russia have arrived in Sichuan province.

27,000 people still buried! Time is running out!

Translated from DWNEWS.COM , http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/ChinaNews/31504647.html

The golden period (72 hours after the major earthquake) for rescue has passed. Today the Chinese State Rescue officials have confirmed that, the Wenchuan earthquake has killed 19,509 people, and projected 50,000 deaths in total. The severe damaged areas spans 100,000 square kilometers (38,610 sq miles). According to Sichuan Province, till May 14 night local time, there are still about 27,000 people buried in rubbles with diminishing hope of survival.

Till 8 am, May 15, local time, over 130,000 Chinese troops have been deployed and have reached all the 58 devastated towns in Sichuan. By far the troops have rescued more than 60,000 injured people in Wenchuan, the epicenter. However, this was only the first step for these people. They have to face the trauma of losing loved ones and homes, not to say physical difficulties and life/death choices.

The earthquake has also damaged about 4,150,000 houses and collapsed 210,000 houses. In the evening of May 14, the rescue team discovered over 200 student bodies in the collapsed Huangwang Town Elementary School.

Terrain of Wenchuan

The terrain of Wenchuan, the epicenter, of Sichuan Province

Wenchuan is mostly surrounded by mountains, and lies by Min River (previously known as Wen River). The roads linking Wenchuan to outside world wind over mountains. The collapse of mountains and rock-mud slides caused severe damage to roads after the earthquake. Heavy machinery still cannot reach Wenchuan after a few days of the earthquake.

http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/Donation/27178838.html


See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenchuan_County

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Some photos

The most disturbing photos are not included below. (see e.g. http://blog.hjenglish.com/lizhidu/archive/2008/05/14/1044104.html)

A child receiving medical care in Liangping, Chongqing



People receiving medical treatment outside

Student bodies in Xiang'e'xiang School, Dujiangyan City, Sichuan Province. A major school building collapsed during the quake. Till now, only fewer than 100 students were saved out of more than 420. From Xinhua News.


Life is the most precious gift to everyone.

Rescued! Life is precious

At least one of the kids discovered under the rubbles (see http://equicont.blogspot.com/2008/05/unbearable-heartbreakings-perished.html) were alive!!!

source: cctv

Wenchuan, after the quake

from Xinhua Net