China Earthquake Highlights

         The Asian country of China has been among the worst hit by earthquakes in history. In the year 1556 approximately 830,000 people died in Shaanxi City. Since that year, subsequent earthquakes never had such a large number of fatalities till the year 2008. On May 2008 the Eastern Sichuan earthquake claimed 87,587 lives. China has experienced recorded 29 earthquakes since 1290 to date. In total the earthquakes have approximately caused 1,585,365 deaths in this period of years. This is a figure many thousand times larger compared to fatalities in nations with fewer earthquakes than China.

Recent earthquake reports.

            The year 2010 is no exception; an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 on the Richter scale has caused approximately 589 fatalities and thousands of injuries. The number of fatalities is expected to go high as more rescue work by the army and civilians goes on in Qinghai province. According to China Radio the quake has affected the wider region of Tibet with 90% of homes in Jiegu town down in rubbles. Qinghai province is to the North-western part of Sichuan which was badly affected in the 2008 earthquake. The United States Geological Survey (U.S.G.S) reported that the quake hit at 0749 hrs local time with a recorded depth of ten kilometers in the Tibet region of Yushu. There were reported replicates of aftershocks of 5.2 and 5.3 magnitude according to a CNN report.

            The province of Qinghai gets hit at least five earthquakes in a year with most of them having a magnitude of 5 on the Richer scale. However, these frequent earthquakes do not cause many deaths and destruction. This is because the Qinghai province has desert plateaus and ragged mountainous terrain with a very sparse population density. The province is home to Tibetans.

            There were reported cases of landslides devastating destruction of buildings and major infrastructural damage that has paralyzed transport to the area. The locals in the affected areas have temporarily moved to open spaces. The living condition of the residents is worsened by the lower temperatures and strong winds experienced in this part of the year. The civilian population and military are struggling in efforts to rescue survivors. However, their efforts are being hampered by lack of machinery for excavation.

            Hospitals are stretched beyond capacity due to the high number of casualties, whereas, local morgues are reported full. The hospitals have a deficit of basic supplies including serum for the casualties.

            The Chinese government vice Prime Minister Liangyu Hui has gone to the area to ensure affirmative action is taken. 5,000 military personnel have been sent to oversee the rescue operation in the province. Other members of the health service have been mobilized to join the force on the ground for reinforcement.

            The Chinese authorities have sent supplies to help the displaced. These include blankets, food supplies and medical supplies. The United States and other governments have sent in aid to the Chinese government to help the affected.