The state run news agency Xinhua reported that the death toll in the massive earthquake in Sichuan province has surpassed the 12,000 initial estimate. In Yingxiu town alone, 7,700 or three quarters of the towns population were confirmed killed during the earthquake. To date, more than 2,000 aftershocks have been recorded, some as strong as 4 to 5.3 magnitude sending residents scampering to the streets.
The aftershocks have caused panic and terror among the population who refuse to seek shelter in the buildings for fear of being trapped. People have gathered around open spaces and have set up tent communities despite the inclement weather. The rescue efforts are being disrupted by the aftershocks and pose great risks to those still alive and trapped beneath concrete rubble. Continuous rain has aggravated the difficulties as the water could loosen the shaky stability of the diggings.
Rescue workers have taken great risks crawling underneath crumbling walls to reach out to voices crying for help. Bodies of children bring wails of grief to parents and relatives. Despite the swarm of soldiers in all sites throughout the entire province, and the organized operations that have been put in place using mechanized equipment; the sheer size of the destruction and the undetermined thousands buried beneath rubble spread in many towns and counties in
this vast province is numbing. A feeling of helplessness in the race against time persists. So many children, workers, elderly, and residents have yet to be rescued. With every lifeless body pulled out, hope diminishes for those still buried. Suffering and grief mount for those waiting, confounded by the tragedy and confused between seeing a loved one alive, or at least recovering remains.
Roads leading to the province and the epicenter are dangerous. Paratroopers have been used to immediately assist far flung areas unreachable by land and cut off by collapsed bridges. China's response has been exemplary and its transparency has
gained the admiration of the international community. Its citizens are lining up to donate blood, but those in Sichuan province are too tired, and many have blood pressures shooting up, that their donations have to be rescheduled.
It will take some time before those directly affected by this calamity can find closure. Even then, the memory of this horror and its magnitude will continue to haunt them.
Harrrrwwwwk...Twoooooph...Ting!
The aftershocks have caused panic and terror among the population who refuse to seek shelter in the buildings for fear of being trapped. People have gathered around open spaces and have set up tent communities despite the inclement weather. The rescue efforts are being disrupted by the aftershocks and pose great risks to those still alive and trapped beneath concrete rubble. Continuous rain has aggravated the difficulties as the water could loosen the shaky stability of the diggings.
Rescue workers have taken great risks crawling underneath crumbling walls to reach out to voices crying for help. Bodies of children bring wails of grief to parents and relatives. Despite the swarm of soldiers in all sites throughout the entire province, and the organized operations that have been put in place using mechanized equipment; the sheer size of the destruction and the undetermined thousands buried beneath rubble spread in many towns and counties in
this vast province is numbing. A feeling of helplessness in the race against time persists. So many children, workers, elderly, and residents have yet to be rescued. With every lifeless body pulled out, hope diminishes for those still buried. Suffering and grief mount for those waiting, confounded by the tragedy and confused between seeing a loved one alive, or at least recovering remains.
Roads leading to the province and the epicenter are dangerous. Paratroopers have been used to immediately assist far flung areas unreachable by land and cut off by collapsed bridges. China's response has been exemplary and its transparency has
gained the admiration of the international community. Its citizens are lining up to donate blood, but those in Sichuan province are too tired, and many have blood pressures shooting up, that their donations have to be rescheduled.It will take some time before those directly affected by this calamity can find closure. Even then, the memory of this horror and its magnitude will continue to haunt them.
Harrrrwwwwk...Twoooooph...Ting!
