At least 589 dead as quake hits remote Chinese region

[Neo]

At least 589 dead as quake hits remote Chinese region

* Seismologists predict more aftershocks
* Over 10,000 injured, telecommunications disrupted, temples toppled
* Landslides hampering rescue efforts in mountainous area

XINING: Survivors from an earthquake that killed at least 589 people in a remote area of China on Wednesday faced a cold night without shelter, as rescuers using their bare hands searched for survivors.

Thousands were injured when the quake toppled mud-and-wood houses and school buildings in the northwestern province of Qinghai, but police managed to pull over 900 people alive from ruined buildings.

Many more are believed buried and forecasters predict wind and sleet in coming days, while seismologists warned of further aftershocks.

Among the dead were children buried when the devastating quake measuring at least 6.9 rocked the predominantly Tibetan region earlier in the day.

Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama offered prayers for those who died while Pope Benedict XVI called for “solidarity” with the victims, and nations, including Germany, Japan and France, voiced shock and offered help.

About 10,000 people were injured in the quake, which disrupted telecommunications, knocked out electricity, toppled temples and triggered landslides, hampering rescue efforts in the mountainous area.

State media spoke of panicked residents fleeing their homes, while others hunted for loved-ones trapped in the ruins in Yushu prefecture, the epicentre of the latest disaster to strike the world’s most populous nation.

President Hu Jintao called for all-out efforts to save as many people as possible, with over 5,000 rescuers, including soldiers, rushing to the disaster zone while the government said it would provide over $29 million in aid.

Citing officials coordinating rescue operations, Xinhua news agency reported that 589 people had been confirmed dead.

“The injured are everywhere in the street, a lot of people are bleeding from head wounds,” Xinhua quoted Zhuohuaxia as saying, adding that more than 85 percent of houses collapsed in Jiegu.

Rescue teams are being rushed to the disaster zone, Xinhua said.

The US was “ready to assist” in the rescue effort, said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while the UN said its chief, Ban Ki-Moon, “recognises” the efforts being undertaken by the government of China”.

In separate messages, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani also expressed deep shock over the loss of life in China. agencies

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...5-4-2010_pg1_4

[vinod2070]

RIP to the victims.

[Selma Shirazi]

RIP, too many earthquakes lately.
We really need early warning systems.

[Neo]

RIP to the victims.

[Neo]

Death toll rises over 1,000 in China quake

JIEGU: The death toll from a strong quake that rocked a remote Tibetan region of China surged past the 1,000 mark on Friday, as tonnes of food, clothes and other vital supplies started pouring in.

Meanwhile preparations were under way for the cremation of hundreds of victims of the disaster as concern turned toward the risk of disease outbreaks in the quake zone, centred on the town of Jiegu in Qinghai province.

An AFP journalist saw hundreds of bodies laid out on the floor of a warehouse-like structure at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery overlooking the town, with locals saying the dead were to be cremated from Saturday morning.

As of Friday evening the official number of dead had risen to 1,144, the state Xinhua news agency said, up from a toll of 791 earlier in the day. Yet it could rise further with more than 400 still missing. Thousands of survivors of Wednesday’s 6.9-magnitude earthquake have waited desperately for large-scale shipments of food and other aid having spent two freezing and hungry nights out in the open after many buildings crumbled.

Officials have assured the public that despite such challenges, the disaster will be dealt with but warned of delays due to difficulty in reaching the remote quake-hit area. President Hu Jintao cut short a Latin American tour and Premier Wen Jiabao postponed a trip to Southeast Asia to deal with the disaster. afp

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...7-4-2010_pg4_5