Attachments
This bulletin is being issued for information only, and reflects the current situation and details available at this time. The Red Cross Society of China is not seeking funding or other assistance from donors at this time.
Summary: A 7.1-magnitude earthquake in China's Qinghai Province has killed at least 617 people and injured a further 10,000 people with the figure on the rise. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), this is the strongest quake to have hit the remote mountainous area since 1976. Relief personnel were rushed in, however, excavation and rescue efforts remain difficult as rescue workers deal with the high-altitude environment and debris-littered surroundings.
The Situation
An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale hit northwest China's Qinghai Province at 07:49 local time on 14 April 2010 (23:49 GMT on 13 April 2010). Its epicentre was calculated to be 33.1 north and 96.7 east, which is about 50 km away from the Jiegu Township, the government headquarters of the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu, and about 800 km away from Xining, the Qinghai provincial capital. Qinghai is located on the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau. Some 750 aftershocks have been recorded with the largest one registering a magnitude of 6.3, about an hour and 36 minutes after the earthquake.
According to the latest official statements, 617 people have been reported dead while some 9,110 people have been injured and 313 are missing. The earthquake toppled 15,000 residential buildings, forcing 100,000 residents to relocate. Electricity, water and communication are completely cut off, while roads linking the airport and Jiegu were blocked by landslides triggered by the quake, although air transportation has been established from Xining.
Many people are still buried under the debris of collapsed houses near the epicentre in the Jiegu Town, home to some 100,000 people. Most of the survivors stayed out in the open area on the first night amid freezing weather or sought temporary shelters in buildings that remained unaffected by the tremor. Rescuers have set up more than 40 tents for survivors in Jiegu, but more are desperately needed.
The Chinese government immediately sent an assessment team while relief teams from Qinghai province and the neighbouring Tibet Autonomous Region were deployed to the affected area. Other teams made up of professional rescuers, soldiers, police officers and medical workers have been dispatched to Yushu from across the country, along with tents, cotton-padded clothes, quilts, food, water, medicine, bulldozers, excavators, cranes, generators and other relief supplies.
The rescue and excavation process is hindered by freezing weather, difficult road conditions, high altitude and thin air. The affected area sits at about 4,000 meters above sea level. Some of the rescuers were reportedly already feeling dizzy due to low oxygen levels in the air soon after arriving at Yushu.