EARTHQUAKE REPORT 2

Dear Friends of the Kham Aid Foundation,

Since the earthquake that struck in Kham three days ago, I have gathered a bit more information about the situation. Here is a report from the wire service Reuters

---start of wire report---

Sunday February 25 838 AM ET

20,000 Homes Collapse in China Quake

BEIJING (Reuters) - Some 20,000 houses collapsed and three people were killed as a strong earthquake struck a remote area of China's Sichuan province, a local official said on Sunday. Another 109 people were injured and seven were missing after the quake, measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale, struck a mountainous area populated by ethnic Tibetans in the southwestern province Friday. The official also confirmed earlier Xinhua news agency reports that the earthquake had seriously damaged roads and services, including water supplies, power and telecommunications. Xinhua reported the quake rocked Yajiang and Kangding counties at 809 a.m. and was felt in 20 towns by around 20,000 people.

----end of wire report---

And here is what our field office director learned from CCTV news

---start of CCTV news summary---

After the main earthquake happened at 0809 am on 23, there happened about 300 small earthquake in the area of about 50,000 square kilometers. Up to now, only three people died, and more than 100 were injured. According to the Ganzi news, there are several buildings collapsed in Yajiang county seat, and 40% buildings in Yajiang county seat suffered from different degrees of damage. There is a 5-km-long land crack in the earthquake area of Kangding county. This might cause slope slides. Another news said the total collapsed ROOMS reached about 15,000.

---end of CCTV news summary---

Another Chinese source, passed onto me by Stephen Aldridge, says that "it is reported that three people were killed, 11 injured, 5 buildings collapsed, including a hospital. A huge crack also appeared in the Hetaoping hydroelectric intake pipe, shutting it down. Reports are that it will take a couple of days by horseback to reach the epicenter located in Bawolung between Yajiang and Jiulong counties. Damage in Kangding county was reported as light."

According to the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, there were two main quakes. One occurred at 000923 UTC at a latitude of 29.53 degrees and a longitude of 101.13, the magnitude was 5.7. (The Chinese measured it at 6.0 to 6.1). The second occurred 021156 UTC, at a latitude of 29.42N and longitude of 101.16E Depth; its magnitude was 4.4.

According to my map, then, the epicenter was right along the Yalong River (Nya Chu), about 60 km south of the Yajiang (Nyachuka) county seat. I surmise that the village of Bawolung must be located here. There appears to be some kind of a dirt road going from Yajiang about 60% of the distance; however its unlikely that this road is still useable, which accounts for the reported time of two days on horseback to reach the site

Those of you who have been to Yajiang know that much of the town is very precariously situated on the brink of a cliff overlooking the Yalong River. This is the most accessible of the quake-affected towns, and very probably the reports of deaths, injuries, and damage are emanating from here. The town of Jiulong (Gyezil) is a little more distant from the epicenter--about 70 km--and probably suffered a good deal of damage, although the land underneath Jiulong is flatter. But the most devastated areas on the Yalong River are inaccessible and it will take some time before the full story of the disaster is known.

Some of you have already pledged donations to assist the people whose homes and lives have been shattered by this quake. My field office director has already left for Yajiang to find out how the funds can best be put to use. If anyone else would like to contribute, please email me with your pledge amount. That way I can immediately order the funds to be released from our Kangding bank account.

In the meantime, let's all pray and hope for the Tibetans who are now, in the coldest part of winter, homeless and destitute.

Sincerely,

Pamela Logan

P.S. Architect Bill Semple wrote to remind me that, despite the deep foundations mandated by Chinese safety regulations, earthquake resistance of new buildings in Kangding and elsewhere may be compromised by substandard concrete. This in fact is just what happened to many of the buildings that collapsed in Ahmedabad because the concrete had too much sand in it.

earthquake report 1 | earthquake report 3
disaster relief program home | kham aid home