June 14, 2008

• It has been one month since the earthquake hit Sichuan. Survivors and people from other regions mourned to remember those who lost lives in the quake. Survivors and volunteers started planning on rebuilding the destroyed homelands, including schools, highways, manufactures, historical buildings, etc..
• Children from Sichuan earthquake zones celebrated Father's Day today.
• Rainstorms slashed southern China in the past several days. Killed 12 and affected millions in Southern China. Torrential rain also destroyed more than 10,000 houses, disrupted traffic and caused landslides in the provinces of Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and Anhui, Guangdong, as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

June 9, 2008

• Tangjiashan Lake, a quake-formed lake continued to swell even though soldiers used soldiers used dynamite and anti-tank weapons to blow up boulders in a diversion channel to try to speed its drainage.
• More than 250,000 people downstream from Tangjiashan lake have already been evacuated in recent weeks. Many were living in improvised camps on surrounding hillsides, surviving on instant noodles and suffering from heat, mosquitoes and a lack of water for bathing.
• Survivors in Sichuan are going back to job market gradually. Workers in a ShiFang firm are planning to recover 100% of the production within one year. Mayor of ShiFang City asked for the China State's financial assistance on city's economy recovering.

June 3, 2008

• Angry parents whose children were killed in an earthquake-stricken school were forcefully removed yesterday, June 2, 2008, from a protest outside a courthouse.
• The government has taken some steps to try to help grieving parents. On Tuesday, Beijing began giving compensation to some families whose children were killed--about $144 per year to each parent who lost an only child. The Ministry of Civil Affairs also announced that parents who had lost their only child had first priority in adopting children orphaned by the disaster.
• Tangjiasha Yansai Lake is under monitoring for its climbing water levels. The lake area was hit by several aftershocks. Authorities are not sure how much damage it will cause if the lake's bank collapses and floods.

June 2, 2008

• The earthquake death poll went up to 69,109 as of noon on June 2, 2008, China Time (UTC +8). 18,627 are still reported missing.
• Hundreds of parents who lost their children in the earthquake gathered together in Dujiangyan to for a mournful -- and pointed -- remembrance on the Children's Day, June 1, 2008.
• In Sichuan, workers in hazmat suits crisscrossed collapsed communities in trucks yesterday, June 1, 2008, spraying disinfectant as part of a government campaign to prevent disease outbreaks among 5 million left homeless by last month's earthquake.
• A military helicopter carried 5 staffs flew into fog and turbulence and crashed near the epicenter. State broadcaster CCTV said 4,000 soldiers were searching but gave no word on survivors.

May 29, 2008

• The earthquake death poll went up to 68,516 as of noon on May 29, 2008, China Time (UTC +8). 19,351 are still reported missing.
• Millions of the refugees will go on the job market soon. The longer-term need for jobs and income has yet to be addressed by China's leaders.
• Water level of Yansai Lake in Tangjiashan keeps rising during the past several days due to a 2-day heavy rain. More than 600 rescuers worked through heavy rain on May 29, 2008 to dig a diversion channel on this most dangerous lake in China's quake-hit Sichuan Province. 110, 000 people lived downstream were evacuated.

May 28, 2008

• The earthquake death poll went up to 68,109 as of noon on May 28, 2008, China Time (UTC +8). 19,851 are still reported missing.
• Rebuilding China's devastated earthquake zone will be a long and arduous process, the government warned Wednesday, May 28, 2008, in a signal to millions of survivors living in tents that there will be no quick return to normalcy from their upturned lives.
• Premier Wen Jiabao ordered to ensure supplies of coal, oil, gas, electricity and agricultural goods and materials in an executive meeting of the State Council, China's Cabinet, held on May 28, 2008.
• Over 14,000 students still can not resume education due to short of tents, spaces, and teachers.
• Premier Wen Jiabao shows up on Facebook. It is not known who set up the page. But there are over 16,000 users has signed up as his "supporters" as of May 28, 2008.

May 27, 2008

• The earthquake death poll went up to 67,183 as of noon on May 27, 2008, China Time (UTC +8). 20,790 are still reported missing.
• Shanxi, a neighbor province of Sichuan, was hit by a 5.7 magnitude aftershocks on May 27, 2008. On May 25, 2008, a 6.1 magnitude aftershocks hit Gansu province, killed 10 people and injured 43, and left many homeless.
• About 80,000 people were evacuated on May 27, 2008 from downstream of an unstable earthquake-created dam that is threatening to collapse, and troops rushed to carve a trench to drain the water before it floods the valley.
• Relief products are continued been sent to Sichuan from many regions around the country and overseas.
• Parents who lost their school aged questioned the construction quality of the schools. China Government will underscore the post-quake reconstruction in quake areas.
• Prefabricated houses are constructed at refugee camps on Tuesday, May 27, 2008. Victims who live in the tents now are hoping to move to the prefabricated houses soon.

May 24, 2008

The earthquake death poll went up to 55,740 as of noon on May 23, 2008, China Time (UTC +8). 24,960 are still reported missing.

Sichuan Department of Transportation reported a lost of 47.8 Billion RMB from ruined, destroyed, and damaged high ways, bridges, rail roads, and tunnels.

The China government was shifting focus to reconstruction.

Chinese banks were told today to forgive debts owed by survivors in an effort to revive the economy, and the government warned it was cracking down on price-gouging by merchants in the disaster area.

Two pandas missing since the quake have still not been located.

All 15 sources of radiation buried in the rubble were all rescued. There has been no leak of radioactive substances into the environment.

Relief troops follow the strict disinfection procedures to disinfect every day in the rubble three times. No plague was reported.

May 23, 2008

The earthquake death poll went up to 51, 151 as of 10 PM on May 22, 2008, China Time (UTC +8). 68,608 injured are under medical treatment.

The deadly earthquake from last week last over 4000 orphans. Many Chinese are eager to adopt quake orphans. Officials estimate that the number of Chinese wanting to adopt the earthquake's orphans may outnumber the orphans themselves.

The school consolers in Sichuan started offering services in mental health to survived children who resumed school recently.

Tents, disinfectants, antibiotics, and personal protective equipments such as masks, gloves, water shoes, safety glasses and encapsulating suits, remain on the top of the urgent relief products demanded list.

May 22, 2008

The earthquake death poll increased to 41,353 as of midnight on May 21, 2008, China Time (UTC +8).

Young survivors return to classes in the temporary tents at the earthquake tent city in Mianyang. School supplies are scant. Many tent schools have no desks or books.

Survivors are still being found against all odds eight days after the devastating quake.

Premier Wen Jiabao announced a $10 billion reconstruction fund and ordered all agencies to cut spending by 5 percent to free up already budgeted money, state media reported. Wen also called a halt to new state building projects.

Disaster zones are still in urgent need of relief supplies including tents, disinfectants, antibiotics, and personal protective equipments such as masks, gloves, water shoes, safety glasses and encapsulating suit.

May 21, 2008

China is grappling with the next massive task in the aftermath of its earthquake - how to shelter the 5 million people left homeless. Many were living Tuesday in tent cities like one at the base of Qianfo Mountain in the disaster zone, offering some stability - along with food and medical care - to those whose lives were upended.

On May 20, 2008 the China government issued an urgent appeal for tents and brought in the first foreign teams of doctors and field hospitals, some of whom were swapping out with overseas search and rescue specialists.

Vice Minister for Civil Affairs Jiang Li said 5 million people were homeless and that the government was setting up temporary housing for victims unable to find shelter with relatives. He said nearly 280,000 tents had been shipped to the area and 700,000 more ordered and that factories were ramping up to meet demand. Sichuan's governor said 3 million tents were needed.

The tent cities have clinics, food distribution points, toilets, trash dumps, and even plans for temporary schools. A red banner at Anxian camp reads "Love is all around. We never feel lonely."

Also today China continues the second Day of National Mourning for the Sichuan Earthquake victims. The earthquake death toll rises to 40,075 as of May 20, 11:15 GMT. The Sichuan local governments also issued urgent appeal of medicines, medical equipments, baby formulas and food.

May 20, 2008

China's Xinhua news agency earlier quoted that the death toll from the devastating earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province rose to 40,075 nationwide as of 6 p.m. Tuesday, while 247,645 people were injured. Chinese Official also said it was struggling to find shelter for many of the 5 million people whose homes were destroyed in last week's earthquake.

May 20, 2008

It is the 8th day after the earthquake, survivors are still being found against all odds. Rescuers freed a 60-year-old woman Tuesday who was trapped for more than 195 hours and had survived by drinking rainwater.

She was one of two people believed to have been rescued Tuesday. The other was a man pulled from a flattened power plant just after midnight.

The confirmed death toll from the disaster rose to 40,075, with 247,645 people injured. Officials have said the final number killed by the quake was expected to surpass 50,000.

Strong aftershocks and fears of flash flooding and landslides have been hindering the rescue efforts. Sichuan Seismological Bureau warned residents Monday that a strong aftershock was likely to happen in the province.

State media showed people camping on the streets and in city squares after the government-issued aftershock warning. (Source: Yahoo! News)

May 19, 2008

WENCHUAN, China - China stood still Monday in mourning over tens of thousands of earthquake victims, and the government appealed for more international aid to cope with the country's deadliest disaster in a generation.

Construction workers, shopkeepers and bureaucrats across the bustling nation of 1.3 billion people paused for three minutes at 2:28 p.m. - exactly one week after the magnitude 8.0 Earthquake hit central China.

Airraid sirens and the horns of cars and buses sounded in memory of the dead.

In Beijing's Tiananmen Square, thousands of people bowed their heads and then began shouting "Long Live China!" and thrusting their fists in the air. Traffic on the capital's highways and roads stopped, and some drivers got out of their cars.

The confirmed death toll from the May 12 quake rose to 34,073, the State Council, China's Cabinet, said Monday. Another 9,500 remained buried in Sichuan and more than 29,000 were missing, the provincial government said, according to Xinhua. (Source: Yahoo! News)

May 19, 2008

To express the deep condolences to the Sichuan Wenchuan earthquake victims, the State Council of China announced that May 19, 20 and 21, 2008 as National Days of Mourning. Early this morning, the Chinese National Flag was put at half-mast as the starting point of the National Days of Mourning.

During the National Days of Mourning, all domestic and foreign institutions in China are required to put Chinese National Flags Half Mast. No public recreational activities are permitted domestically. All China's Foreign Ministry, Embassies and Consulates in foreign countries are required to join the National Days of Mourning. On May 19 2008, at 2:28 p.m. China Time (UTC +8), all Chinese citizens across the country shall observe a moment of silence for three minutes, after cars, trains, ships and air defense alarm sound aloud.

May 18, 2008

China declared three days of national mourning for earthquake victims and ordered a suspension of the Olympic torch relay, as the search for survivors of the disaster grew bleak Sunday.

The State Council said the mourning period would start Monday and include three minutes of silence observed nationwide at 2:28 p.m., the time the quake struck.

Beijing Olympic organizers said in a statement that the torch relay would be suspended "to express our deep mourning to the victims of the earthquake." The relay already had resumed last week after the quake on a more somber note, with runners starting with a minute of silence and asking for donations along the route. Organizers have said the relay would go on as planned in quake-hit Sichuan province next month.

In the disaster zone, efforts appeared to shift Sunday from searching for buried survivors to clearing corpses from shattered buildings as the government said the confirmed death toll rose to 32,476.

Another 220,109 people suffered injuries, according to a statement from the State Council, China's Cabinet. The government has said it expects the final death toll will surpass 50,000. (Source: Yahoo! News)

May 17, 2008

The death toll from the powerful earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province has risen to 28,881 nationwide as of 2 p.m. 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, with 3.13 million collapsed.

As of 8 p.m. Friday, 116,460 injured people have been hospitalized, with 12,858 people in critical conditions. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

May 15, 2008

The 7.9 8.0 magnitude tremor, which was focused in China's Sichuan Province, is estimated to have killed at least 19,500 people ?and that toll is expected to rise dramatically as rescue teams continue to reach the most affected areas. In cities near the earthquake's epicenter, thousands are buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings. At least 60,000 people are still missing.

May 12, 2008

At 2:28 p.m. local time, an 7.9 8.0 magnitude earthquake shook Wenchuan County, Sichuan province of the People's Republic of China. The hypocenter was located at a depth of 26 km (16.2 miles) below the surface.