• Ginola
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A Man's Random Walk
politik, economik, foreign affairs
Permalink : http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/ginola
Monday , May 12 , 2008
Surviving the Sichuan Earthquake
Posted by Ginola , Reader : 1036 , 23:12:00  
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I'm in the US but my mom and brother live in Chengdu, China, which is just 100 km away from the epicenter of the earthquake. I just managed to call them a moment ago.

My mom was working on the 12th floor of a building when the erathquake struck. She said the building was shaking very strongly and bent continually sideward, right and left. The noise inside the building was tremendous; it was like the building was twisting itself and going to break.

She thought this would be the end, but she and her colleagues ran down the emergency stairs and reached the ground safely, joining hundreds of others in the street.

My brother was in school and the building was shaking heavily too. He and his friends ran and made it to the school's football field. He got stranded at the school for hours because there were no school buses or taxis available, and most mobile phones were unworkable until a few hours ago.

My mom, my brother and the Thai community there, including diplomats and students, are gathering at the courtyard of the Thai Consul's house. They will be sitting outside the house for the whole night as the Chinese authority announced that there might be after-shocks at 10pm-1am local time.

They are fortunate to have survived this earthquake. Chengdu was not hit as hardly as some other towns in the province.

Read comment

comment 17
wch date : 24/05/2008 time : 07.59

The worsts are still coming.

1. More earth quakes are predicted.

2. 50 dams are at verge of cracking and expected to form a larger, natural lakes once broken.
Massive displacements of residents are now organized.

3. PRC reported all nuclear waste tanks are removed to safe place.

4. Once another disaster cover the China, Oympic game must be postponed to the next year.

5. The world must be prepared for next disaster.
comment 16
wch date : 23/05/2008 time : 08.39

I have seen an incredible scene on TV yesterday.

In a nursery where houses the desperate children who just lost their parents,

A female police-woman, just opened her bosom and fed her breasts to a few month old infant,

and she dropped her tears,
......
comment 15
wch date : 14/05/2008 time : 08.44

Yes, they are welcome for any overseas aids.
comment 14
Ian date : 13/05/2008 time : 19.30
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/anterian36

Well comparing the US response to Katrina, the Thai response to the tsunami, the Burmese response to the cyclone and the Chinese rsponse to the earthquake, I would say the Chinese seem to be the most on the ball.
comment 13
talkfact date : 13/05/2008 time : 16.33
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/jern
penfact 

Earth Quakes in China;
1556 830 000 dead
1920 (8,3 on Richter scale)
1927 (8,0 on Richer)
1932
1970
1974
1976 (7,8 on Richter) 250 000 dead
1988
1996
2003

About the EQ 1976: The disaster was more or less ignored by Chairman Mao and the other leaders. A few months later Chairman Mao died.
Among the Chinese leaders there has been a secretive tradition.
Disasters are to be kept in secret, not to be talked about openly
and thus no reason to come with much help either.
A disaster is seen as a sign that the "heavenly mandate" is taken away from the leaders and the idea appears to be that
if you neglect and ignore it chanses are it should cease to exist.
Is this what the Burmese leaders try to copy? If , then this is Karma turned upside down:
Do as little as possible to help the victims of the disaster.
Let them take care of themselves. Especially if you are a leader of the country you should ignore the disaster as if you get involved there is a risk it might interfere badly
with you own Karma. But if you can trick yourself into believing that the disaster has nothing to do with you - chances are it will not affect you...
comment 12
GGrass date : 13/05/2008 time : 13.46
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/GGrass

Whatdeheck wasn't kidding after all... about 'Nibiru', the catastrophic planet...
comment 11
nepalartsgallery date : 13/05/2008 time : 13.34
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/TIBET

I feel So sorry
comment 10
Piset date : 13/05/2008 time : 13.18
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/mahwatthai
Piset

Khun Lalida:

Yes, I am in Shanghai, all right. It is approximately 1800 km from the epicenter. Many tall buildings here can feel the quake. My daughter also told me she felt the quake on our sixth floor building too.

Ian:

You reminded me of the story about "The Age of Aquarius" during the late 60's. They rumored that California would get a huge quake and would fall into the Pacific Ocean as a result. The result was all the hippies left California for Colorado and the East.

Catch:

The first thing I felt when I learned that the Chinese prime minister was flying into the epicerter was that the affect from this quake must be huge. By flying there in the first instant, Wen Jiabao has automatically caused all other government, police and military units to move quickly, or as quickly as they can, into the affected area. The fact that no details came out from the epicenter also made me suspect of some rather catastropic damages there.

In a way China is rather experienced with handling big natural disasters. It just got one during last winter.
comment 9
Ian date : 13/05/2008 time : 12.32
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/anterian36

catch, this might seem silly but all the old myths about 2012 also say that there will be increasing natural disasters in the years leading up to that year. Perhaps it's all just coincidence?
comment 8
catch22 date : 13/05/2008 time : 12.01
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/catch22

My thoughts go out to the victims of this tragedy and I'm pleased the Chinese authorities are getting help where needed ASAP.

Is this side of the world crumbling??
comment 7
Lalida date : 13/05/2008 time : 11.51
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/Real

K.Piset,

I thought you're in Shanghai, you didn't feel anything? I was going to leave you a PM to see if you're ok......Anyway, glad you're no where near it.
comment 6
Piset date : 13/05/2008 time : 10.52
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/mahwatthai
Piset

I was at my office at 2.28 pm. (1.28 p.m. Bangkok time) when the tremor struck Wenchuan a township about 100 km NW of Chengdu with the magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale. I did not know about the quake until about 3.30 pm. when I saw the news on TV. I was amazed and disbelieving when they told me that the quake could be felt in the tall building on Rama III Rd. in Bangkok. For hours I waited in front of the Chinese TV scene for further news from the epicenter, but there weren't any until about 4 hours later. We later understood that about 3,000 telephone signal relaying stations were knocked out, there was a complete black out of power in the region. All roads leading to the affected area of Wenchuan were cut by falling rocks and mud slides from the mountains in that mountainous region. Water transport was also blocked. For hours bad weather had prevented any helicopter from getting near that region.

Premier Wen Jiabao arrived at Dujiangyan, a tourist resort city about 80 km from the epicenter at about 6 p.m., he ordered the soldier to get to the worst affected town by foot, if they had to.
Thousands of recue workers and the ambulances, doctors, trucks, tractors were stranded at spots about 100 km from the epicenter in all directions.

In fact, Wenchuan situated on a "Fault" which had experienced several strong quakes in the magnitude of 7.0 or higher during the past decade.

The area affected is the mountainous sceneray area popular among tourist. There is a group of 15 British tourists reported to be stranded there. The tours to the popular Jiuzaigou is temporary halted.

This morning the armed force has already sent in troops with heavy recusing equipment by parachutes.
comment 5
PasaNINJA2499 date : 13/05/2008 time : 10.09
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/PasaNINJA2499
Keep walking forward. Don't give up. Don't fed up.

US, Japan, SK, get ready to help but what about Thailand?
comment 4
PasaNINJA2499 date : 13/05/2008 time : 10.07
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/PasaNINJA2499
Keep walking forward. Don't give up. Don't fed up.

oh...my...God...... Mynmar....and then China.
comment 3
GGrass date : 13/05/2008 time : 08.25
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/GGrass

Ginola: I'm glad your family is safe... You must've been VERY worried...
comment 2
wch date : 13/05/2008 time : 08.07

10,000 deaths confirmed as of this time.
US, Japan, SK, get ready to their airlifts.
comment 1
Lalida date : 13/05/2008 time : 01.06
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/Real

I heard the news mentioned it was felt also at Sathorn area... the strength of the quake was about 7.2 or something.
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