by Sun Meilan

Created on: April 14, 2010

Following a serious earthquake that hit China's Qinghai province, hundreds of people, mainly of Tibetan nationality, are believed to have died and thousands more are injured. The China Earthquake Administration put the magnitude at 7.1, which is just a little higher than the earthquake that hit Haiti back in January. The US Geological Survey have reported it being a little lower at 6.9. Whatever the exact figure, there are people in danger and, with this being such a remote area, rescue attempts are being seriously hampered. A particular point of concern is that temperatures are around zero and, without shelter, many more people could die of hypothermia.

Reports are still coming through and, because the area is so far away from civilisation, it is bound to take a substantial amount of time before more accurate reports are available. However, the most up-to-date reports on the Internet at the time of writing report that at least 400 people are dead, with another 8,000 injured. Yushu county, which is in Qinghai province in the west of China, is a sparsely populated area, but this time the quake hit inhabited areas, particularly the county seat of Jiegu (Jyeku) and, because the low-lying buildings are not particularly sturdy, 85% of the buildings in Jiegu have been destroyed, including schools and government buildings.

Rescue attempts are ongoing, but are going to be particularly hampered by the difficult logistics. Army trucks have been sent in, but Ye Caishu, Qinghai armed police corps captain, has reported that rescue equipment is in desperately short supply. This has been reported to the authorities in Beijing, but getting the equipment there in time is a difficult and slow process and there is a risk that it will not arrive in time to help survivors. The area is prone to earthquakes, but because the quakes usually hit unpopulated areas, there is a strong possibility that any earthquake procedures that should have been in place weren't. 

Earthquakes in China, although rarely receiving much coverage in the West, are common occurrences; some of the deadliest earthquakes of all time have hit China. The deadliest earthquake of all time, which took place in 1556, killed over 820,000 people. The 1976 Tangshan earthquake, believed to be the third deadliest of all time, killed nearly 250,000 people. The Sichuan earthquake in 2008, with a magnitude of 7.9, killed 69,000 people. The earthquake in Yushu may be tiny in comparison, but it is nevertheless a reminder that people in China and worldwide die on a regular basis as a result of earthquakes. 

Perhaps because China is so far away and, to many people in the West, is still very mysterious and incomprehensible, it is easy to dismiss tragedies like this - after all, there are plenty of other tragedies closer to home to concentrate on. Nevertheless, although the dead and dying have very different backgrounds to us, they are still people and deserve our deepest of sympathy, and help, if we are in a position to give it. Spare a thought for China today. 

Sources: 

http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId= 281474978171522

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20100414/twl-hundreds-dea d-in-china-earthquake-41f21e0.html

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/China-Ea rthquake-300-Killed-In-Qinghai-Provinces-Yushu-Regio n-After-69-Magnitude-Tremor/Article/201004215601424? f=rss

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/14/china-ea rthquake-death-toll-yushu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes_in_ China

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