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Earthquake Relief

We’re in the US, but Sarah and I were reminded this weekend again of the effects of the recent earthquake.  While short-term needs are being met, there is a long way to go in the recovery efforts.  One practical thing our company is doing is raising funds to buy coats for those in need during the winter months.  Also, this website is helpful in organizing many of the collective efforts of people in Sichuan between individual groups.

Being in the US has reminded us of how much we have.  Times are tight with gas and food prices, but anything would be appreciated to help those affected.  Thanks!

Long time no post…

It’s been a while… but this will be short.  More commentary to come.

Even though the earthquake has changed plans, we have still been finishing up the school year and preparing to make the transition back to the States.  So after our adjusted High School trip to areas affected by the earthquake, we have had:
- a music concert
- a student awards ceremony
- a staff banquet
- finals
- graduation
- movers come take much of our stuff
- sales to get rid of much of the rest
- and lots of goodbyes.

We have lots of pictues of many of the above mentioned activities; for now most of the pictures are in albums on Sarah’s facebook profile.  We appreciate your thoughts as we prepare to leave China for the foreseeable future on Thursday.  Thanks!

EastSouthWestNorth: The Sichuan Earthquake

The pictures here are descriptive and sad.  We have been on these roads before.  Our middle school students returned from a trip to an area near the epicenter  less than 36 hours before the quake.

EastSouthWestNorth: The Sichuan Earthquake

The Earthquake’s Effects

I saw this graphic today, which effectively what I said in the last post about the effects of the main earthquake.  Here’s where it came from.

We went back to school today; some 20% of our students, especially our younger kids, stayed home with family.  Some older students were with parents, helping the recovery process.

Today was the first day we heard stories from our national staff.  Their words were heart-breaking.  Staff with families living in Mianyang, Mianzhu, Beichuan and other areas are still waiting to hear from some of their family, while others have already received the devestating news.  We heard of military paratroopers jumping into affected areas because there was no other way in.  They had no way to tell where they were jumping, and several were hurt in the process.

Though the aftershocks are decreasing in quantity and intensity, we in Chengdu still aren’t in the clear yet.  Damaged dams in Dujiangyan could cause further damage through massive flooding if they break; it was recently discovered that the dams were damaged in the main quake.

The Chinese people could use your help.  Our school has been helping Heart to Heart; the Chinese Red Cross is a major force in the recovery effort; Morning Tears is specifically helping children, especially those orphaned by this disaster.  All could use help.  We want to help with basic needs (water, food, shelter) now, but are also concerned with rebuilding infrastructure in the future.

More to come, I’m sure…

Earthquake Update

We’re coming on 48 hours after the earthquake, and many more things are becoming clear.

First, we were very fortunate.  The epicenter of the quake was 41.5 miles away from us; considering a magnitude of 7.9, it is surprising that our area survived with so little damage.  The two natural reasons for this are the quality of the building construction and the surrounding terrain.  Because both our school and apartment were built within the past 5 years or so, the quality of the work is much more sound.  In our inspection of the school yesterday, we saw superficial cosmetic flaws with some broken plaster at places, but beyond that, very little was wrong.  Chengdu is situated in a flat area but is surrounded by mountains.  The earthquake did not radiate in a perfect circle; rather, the brunt force created more of an oval shape on a map as the effects were felt the greatest on the mountain ridge.  This screen shot shows the epicenters of both the primary earthquake and other smaller but significant seismic activity on Monday.

So we were fortunate.  Many were not.  The latest estimate of those who died has surpassed 13,000, with more still missing or trapped in the rubble.  Our school is struggling to determine how we best can help out in these situations.  Staff members are gathering supplies and working with the red cross and other organizations to get necessities to those who need them.

  

Some things still aren’t clear.  Rumors around town are prevalent: we can’t drink the water, the water will be turned off for a whole week, there will be another aftershock at precisely 5.00pm.  We’re skeptical, but the water at all nearby stores has been sold out.  As for timing of the aftershocks, well, they’re batting zero so far.

NBC update - apparently we did make the evening news.  That was odd to think about.

We’re still feeling aftershocks; last count I heard was over 600.  Continue to think of those affected, please.

Earthquake!!!

Sarah and I all for having new experiences here in China; being in my first earthquake was not an experience either of us expected. 

The basic facts are that at about 2:30 this afternoon the school began to shake - not too violently, but enough to scare us.  The USGS registered the earthquake at a magnitude of 7.8; at school we felt the earthquake for some 4 minutes.  We don’t know whose fault it was.

Anyway, we are doing alright.  Our decreasing amount of stuff survived; we think had we not been in the process of moving, our belongings could very well have had more damage.

Here’s an interesting twist: an email showed up in my inbox tonight asking for a telephone interview.  So if you hear a familiar voice on the NBC nightly news talking about the earthquake in Chengdu, it could be me…

Please be thinking of those who did not fare nearly as well as we did.  The death toll, according to latest reports, could be in the thousands.  We’re going to be checking tomorrow to see if there’s any way to help.