More than 400 people have died and 10,000 others were injured after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit northwest China's Qinghai Province early on 14 April. Many people are still buried under the debris of collapsed houses in the Gyegu Town near the epicenter in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu in southern Qinghai. The epicenter is about 200 km away from the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which was opened in July 2006 and has linked Tibet with the rest of the country by train for the first time.
Casualties and Losses
The quake also killed five people and injured one in the Shiqu County, which neighbors Yushu, in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze in Sichuan Province. Lying on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Yushu has an altitude of above 4,000 meters. The Qinghai Provincial Observatory forecast on 14 April that Yushu would see strong winds and sleet in the coming days, which would hamper rescue efforts.
The quake also killed five people and injured one in the Shiqu County, which neighbors Yushu, in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze in Sichuan Province. Lying on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Yushu has an altitude of above 4,000 meters. The Qinghai Provincial Observatory forecast on 14 April that Yushu would see strong winds and sleet in the coming days, which would hamper rescue efforts.
Yushu is a quake-prone region. An 8.0-magnitude quake centered in Wenchuan County in Sichuan on May 12, 2008 left 87,000 people dead or missing. In terms of the intensity and scope of destruction, the Wenchuan quake is believed to have surpassed the 7.8-magnitude quake in 1976 in Tangshan, northern Hebei Province, which claimed more than 240,000 lives.
The strong quake and a string of aftershocks, with the biggest one being 6.3 magnitude, have toppled houses, temples, gas stations and electric poles, triggered landslides, damaged roads, cut power supplies and disrupted telecommunications. A reservoir was also cracked, where workers are trying to prevent the outflow of water. Gyegu, also known as Jiegu, is the seat of the Yushu prefecture government. The town has a population of about 100,000, including permanent residents and migrant people. More than 85 percent of the houses in Gyegu, almost all made of wood and earthen walls, had collapsed.
President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao have ordered local authorities to go all out to save the disaster-stricken people. The State Council, or Cabinet, has set up a quake-relief headquarters, with Vice Prime Minister Hui Liangyu as the head, to take care of disaster relief, epidemic prevention, seismic monitoring and public security.
Hui has arrived at the quake-hit region to oversee the rescue and relief operation. Approximately 700 soldiers are now struggling to clear away the rubble and rescue the buried people. More than 5,000 additional rescuers, including soldiers and medical workers, have been dispatched to the quake-hit region, according to a news conference held by the Qinghai Provincial Government.
The China Earthquake Administration, the Red Cross Society of China, and authorities in other provincial-level regions, including Gansu, Sichuan, Tibet, Beijing and Guangdong, have also dispatched rescuers to Yushu. Tents, cotton-padded clothes, quilts, food, medicine, bulldozers, excavators, cranes and dynamotors are being rushed to the region from across the country.
Rescue Operation
The National Development and Reform Commission has allocated 50 million yuan ($7.4 million) as a special fund for repairing the damaged facilities of water, power, roads and telecommunications in Yushu. The China Earthquake Administration has sent 60 rescuers and 30 medical workers to the quake-hit region. The China Eastern Airlines has arranged two aircraft for transporting rescuers and relief supplies. The Qinghai Provincial Department of Civil Affairs has allocated 5,000 tents to the region.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Affairs has allocated 5,000 tents, 50,000 cotton-padded clothes and 50,000 quilts to the region.
The Red Cross Society of China has dispatched a relief team to Yushu and allocated 100,000 yuan, 500 tents, 1,000 cotton-padded clothes and 1,000 quilts as relief supplies. In addition, authorities in Beijing have donated 10 million yuan to Yushu and dispatched an 80-member medical team there. They also sent 10,000 tents, 20,000 beds and 100,000 quilts there.
A number of countries and international organizations have sent their condolences to the Chinese Government and have announced help for China.
History of Earthquakes
The province had experienced 53 earthquakes above a magnitude of 5 on the Richter scale since 2001, according to China Earthquake Administration. Date Time Magnitude Location 2010-04-14 09:25 6.3 Yushu County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu 2010-04-14 07:49 7.1 Yushu County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu 2009-12-21 13:15 5.0 Delhi City, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2009-11-05 05:56 5.1 Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2009-08-31 18:15 5.9 Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2009-08-31 01:15 5.0 Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2009-08-29 00:28 5.0 Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2009-08-28 10:14 5.3 Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2009-08-28 09:52 6.4 Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2008-11-12 05:56 5.1 Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2008-11-10 09:22 6.3 Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2008-07-17 06:58 5.3 Tanggula Mountains area, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2008-06-18 16:12 5.0 Tanggula Mountains area, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2008-06-18 13:23 5.4 Zhidoi County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu 2008-06-10 22:15 5.4 Tanggula Mountains area, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2008-06-10 19:04 5.1 Tanggula Mountains area, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2008-06-10 18:04 5.5 Tanggula Mountains area, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2008-06-09 01:56 5.0 Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2007-02-25 09:49 5.3 Border area between Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi in Qinghai Province Tibet Autonomous Region 2007-02-03 06:32 5.5 Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2006-07-19 17:53 5.6 Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu 2006-07-18 04:41 5.0 Yushu County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu 2006-04-14 17:27 5.6 Border area between Zhidoi County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu, in Qinghai Province, and Bangoin County, Nagqu Prefecture in Tibet Autonomous Region 2006-03-30 07:38 5.2 Golmud City, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2006-02-26 10:13 5.5 Border area between Zhidoi County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, of Yushu in Qinghai Province, and Tibet Autonomous Region 2004-06-29 16:11 5.3 Zhidoi County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu 2004-05-23 15:38 5.3 Border area between Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, of Haixi in Qinghai Province, and Bangoin County, Nagqu Prefecture in Tibet Autonomous Region 2004-05-11 07:27 5.9 Delhi City, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2004-05-04 19:36 5.1 Delhi City, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2004-05-04 13:04 5.5 Delhi City, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2004-04-22 18:02 5.0 Border area between Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, of Haixi in Qinghai Province, and Bangoin County, Nagqu Prefecture in Tibet Autonomous Region 2004-03-29 06:27 5.0 Border area between Qinghai Province and Bangoin County, Nagqu Prefecture in Tibet Autonomous Region 2004-03-29 06:05 5.0 Border area between Qinghai Province and Bangoin County, Nagqu Prefecture in Tibet Autonomous Region 2004-03-28 02:47 6.3 Border area between Qinghai Province and Bangoin County, Nagqu Prefecture in Tibet Autonomous Region 2004-03-28 02:45 5.8 Border area between Qinghai Province and Bangoin County, Nagqu Prefecture in Tibet Autonomous Region 2004-03-17 05:23 5.2 Delhi City, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2004-02-25 04:21 5.0 Delhi City, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2003-07-07 14:55 6.1 Border area between Qinghai Province and Tibet Autonomous Region 2003-05-25 03:32 5.0 Border area between Qinghai Province and Tibet Autonomous Region 2003-05-21 02:34 5.0 Zadoi County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu 2003-04-17 08:48 6.6 Delhi City, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2003-02-11 18:36 5.1 Border area between Qinghai Province and Tibet Autonomous Region 2002-10-27 04:28 5.4 Border area between Dulan County, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, of Haixi, and Qumarleb County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu 2002-09-28 01:14 5.2 Zadoi County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu 2002-06-29 14:54 5.9 Zhidoi County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu 2001-12-08 12:12 5.4 Golmud City, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2001-11-30 18:43 5.1 Border area between Qinghai Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region 2001-11-20 01:45 5.6 Golmud City, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2001-11-19 05:59 5.7 Golmud City, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2001-11-15 07:05 5.3 Golmud City, Mongolian-Tibetan-Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi 2001-11-14 17:26 8.1 Border area between Qinghai Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region 2001-07-26 00:02 5.7 Border area between Zadoi County and Zhidoi County in Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu 2001-07-17 19:32 5.0 Xinghai County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Hainan.
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