In one of the dealiest earthquakes of the decade, a trembler measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale has reportedly struck the Lijiang region of China. Early rescue reports say that at least 240 people are dead and another 3,800 seriously injured. Experts expect the death toll to rise as rescuers continue to search and clear some of the estimated 186,000 buildings that were damaged in the quake. According to the Red Cross Society of China, entire villages were destroyed and hundreds trapped by collapsed buildings and falling debris.
The quake hit the Lijiang region, which is located approximately 1,300 miles southwest of Beijing, in southwestern Yunnan province. Three teams of several hundred doctors and nurses were sent to the scene Several thousand soldiers and police were also sent into the stricken area to help search for survivors. Calls are going out for international aid and requests for food, clothes, medicine, and quilts are being made.
Army helicopters were being used to move the injured to hospitals farther from the scene of the devastation, as all of the local hospitals were overwhelmed and people being turned away. Concerns were raised by medical authorities that many, now with collapsed houses and no other shelter, would catch the flu or other infectious dieseases and an epidemic could result. Large parts of the region are lacking electricity, gas, and other basic services. Temperatures there are well below freezing.
Foriegn tourists and townspeople alike were evacuated from hotels, hostels, and communes with many huddling around campfires. Almost all admitted that they were afraid to return to already damaged buildings, as aftershocks continued to rock the region. At least 180 aftershocks have been registered by seismologists, with several exceeding 4.0 on the Richter scale.
Relief supplies and additional rescuers are starting to pour into the region, but Chinese officials on the scene said that they feared many more would die unless essential medicines, personnel, and equipment arrived within the next critical hours.
(c) EmergencyNet News Service, 1996, All Rights Reserved.