earthquake report 2
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EARTHQUAKE REPORT 1

Feb 23, 2001

Dear Friends of the Kham Aid Foundation,

I just received word that an earthquake struck eastern Ganzi prefecture at about 7pm (Beijing time) last night, that is, about six hours ago. Official Chinese sources are reporting that the epicenter was somewhere near the place where Kangding, Jiulong, and Yajiang counties meet, and the magnitude was 6.0. They also report three dead and "45,000 missing."

To get more complete information, I phoned the Kham Aid Foundation office, which is located in Kangding town. Our field office director, Wu Bangfu, lives on the ground floor of an old building, and so I was extremely concerned about his safety, not to mention all of the other friends and coworkers we have in the town.

Mr. Wu reports that in Kangding town the tremors were "very slight." His building and family are completely okay. It appears that the main force of the earthquake struck in a relatively unpopulated area. So the news is not so bad as it appeared at first.

One place that must have been badly affected is Kazhi Monastery, which lies about 5 km to the south of the highway where it crosses from Kangding into Yajiang counties. The temples of this monastery are built of random stone, and were in very poor condition when I visited a couple of years ago. They were then seeking funds for reconstruction and repair, but I don't know if they were successful. If not, then it's likely that these buildings have been further damaged, perhaps catastrophically.

Ganzi Prefecture, as many of you might know already, is a geologically active region, and earthquakes are frequent. In 1923 there was a magnitude 7.3 quake near Luhuo, in 1948 a 7.2 quake in Litang, in 1955 a 7.5 quake at Kangding, and in 1973 Luhuo was virtually flattened by a 7.9 quake. (That's why one sees so little traditional architecture in Luhuo town). And in 1981 Dawu, just a short distance away from Luhuo, experienced a 6.9 quake. In 1993 there was a shaker in Dege that damaged Palpung and Baiya (Pewar) Monasteries, both of which I have visited many times as part of our art conservation program.

Traditional Tibetan architecture is extremely vulnerable to earthquake damage, particularly if the building is old, the roof is overloaded with clay, and timbers are weakened by damp rot. I would estimate that something like half of all temples in Ganzi survived the turmoil of 1950-76, but a great many of these have since been lost due to lack of maintenance and earthquakes. If anyone out there would like to contribute money to save those that are left, I have a list of some endangered structures and I would be happy to see that donations go where they are needed.

A couple of years ago I traveled in Kham with architect William Semple and he observed that new buildings being constructed in Kangding appeared to be adhering to the safety standards appropriate to an earthquake zone. That is, the foundations were very deep, and the reinforced concrete construction appeared solid. We surmised that some strict building regulations must be in effect, and that they are being followed. So we are not likely to see India's recent disaster re-enacted in Kangding.

The most urgent matter now facing us is the immediate needs of Tibetans whose homes and livelihoods were destroyed by yesterday's quake. If anyone would like to send money to those people, I will ensure that it is properly directed. And I will keep you appraised of conditions as more information comes out.

With my best wishes,

Pamela Logan

earthquake report 2
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