Site Search:
 
Speak Korean Now!
Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!
Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

7.8 Earthquake hits Sichuan Province
Goto page 1, 2  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Current Events Forum
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Kuros



Joined: 27 Apr 2004

PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 12:24 am    Post subject: 7.8 Earthquake hits Sichuan Province Reply with quote

Major Earthquake strikes Western China

Quote:
The U.S. Geological Survey says a major earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.8 has struck western China. There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries.

The quake struck 57 miles northwest of the Sichhuan provincial capital of Chengdu at about 2:30 a.m. EDT on Monday, the survey said on its Web site. It said the quake was centered 18 miles below the surface.

A 7.8 magnitude quake is capable of causing widespread, heavy damage. In the capital Beijing, about 930 miles to the northeast, buildings swayed for more than two minutes.

Repeated phone calls to emergency response numbers in Chengdu, a city of about 10 million people, rang busy Monday.


This was pretty scary, even from Shanghai. I looked up from my computer and felt like I was nauseous, but then noticed that the door was swaying back and forth.

Earthquakes are not fun from the 27th floor.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address
Ya-ta Boy



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994

PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 1:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Perhaps the Mandate of Heaven has been withdrawn.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
hogwonguy1979



Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: the racoon den

PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 5:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ya-ta Boy wrote:
Perhaps the Mandate of Heaven has been withdrawn.


http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/12/china.quake/index.html

death toll is at 3000

given the latest, and given the chinese closeness to the thugs in burma and i tend to agree
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Tiger Beer



Joined: 07 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 6:07 am    Post subject: Re: 7.8 Earthquake hits Sichuan Province Reply with quote

Kuros wrote:
This was pretty scary, even from Shanghai. I looked up from my computer and felt like I was nauseous, but then noticed that the door was swaying back and forth.

Earthquakes are not fun from the 27th floor.

In the news they mentioned that people in Shanghai were running out of their buildings and into the streets. Sounds like they thought it was hitting their city!

Did you feel the same way? Anything fall from your shelves in Shanghai?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
chris_J2



Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: From Brisbane, Au.

PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 6:33 am    Post subject: Quake Reply with quote

The death toll has jumped to 5,000 with many teachers & students trapped in collapsed schools in Sichuan Province. 65 deaths confirmed in Chengdu.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=e9f48080-a422-4a8b-948d-e164ca1f033c

Beichuan (population 161,000), Mianyang city, & Dujiangyan, appear to be the worst affected cities. The only good that may come out of this, is that China may decide not to vote against allowing the UN, unfettered access to the cyclone Nargis disaster zone in Myanmar.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bookemdanno



Joined: 30 Apr 2008

PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 6:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It ain't looking good-perhaps upwards of 5,000 killed and double that number injured. Look for these numbers to escalate as more bodies are dug out and as the tallies are brought up-to-date. Reports from rural areas always trickle in. At least this time tens of thousands won't needlessly die because the Party refuses to acknowledge the scope of the disaster or allow outside aid to come in (as happened in Tangshan in 1976 shortly before Mao's death). Sadly, most of the worst earthquakes in the past century have been in China.

There tends to be an overreaction to these events in eastern coastal cities as earthquakes are widely discussed now in Chinese middle school textbooks.

hagwonguy1979 sniped:

Quote:
death toll is at 3000

given the latest, and given the chinese closeness to the thugs in burma and i tend to agree


I see this has had quite an effect on you; nothing like conflating concerns about the CCP's foreign policy with the plight of its people, eh? You should stay in Korea; you'll feel right at home here among the anti-Sino crowd.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
excitinghead



Joined: 18 Jul 2005

PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 8:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some people won't believe me (oh well), but because I was sitting down at the time I felt it from as far away as Busan:

http://thegrandnarrative.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/did-anybody-else-feel-the-earthquake/

I don't want to detract from the serious points people are making on this thread, but I'm curious as to whether anyone else in Korea felt it?


Last edited by excitinghead on Mon May 12, 2008 8:41 am; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
chris_J2



Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: From Brisbane, Au.

PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 8:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Death toll in China earthquake rises to 8,533"

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gBr_dOzJ9Pnc_U9gSgtTgE-cR-KwD90K6CQO3
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Kuros



Joined: 27 Apr 2004

PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 5:21 pm    Post subject: Re: 7.8 Earthquake hits Sichuan Province Reply with quote

Tiger Beer wrote:
Kuros wrote:
This was pretty scary, even from Shanghai. I looked up from my computer and felt like I was nauseous, but then noticed that the door was swaying back and forth.

Earthquakes are not fun from the 27th floor.

In the news they mentioned that people in Shanghai were running out of their buildings and into the streets. Sounds like they thought it was hitting their city!

Did you feel the same way? Anything fall from your shelves in Shanghai?


No, nothing fell from the shelves.

But yes, the entire office building evacuated and everyone was outside. It was pretty dramatic.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address
bookemdanno



Joined: 30 Apr 2008

PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 6:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mark my words: you'll see a much different response to this quake from the Chinese government than previous ones. And no, not only because of the Olympics, but because the present CCP leadership has vivid memories of what happened at Tangshan in 1976. No one can even estimate the number of people who died in that quake; estimates range from 200,000 to 600,000. What is clear is that most died waiting for relief workers to get to the rubble, and for food, water, and medical supplies. At that time Mao's wife and the rest of the Gang of Four were in charge and they didn't want to admit to the need for foreign assistance. For weeks, people in Beijing camped outside (it was the summer) for fear of aftershocks. Almost the entire city had to be rebuilt.

What's not been reported much is that the Bird's Nest in Beijing, the new Olympic stadium, is only designed to withstand a 8.0 earthquake, and this is now confirmed at 7.9 on the Richter Scale. Of course, the epicenter was much farther away than Tangshan in Hebei Province (which wraps around Beijing Shi).

Another point not made by any correspondents: it is common knowledge in China that schools in the countryside are built with cheaper materials for the most part. The three-story high school that collapsed on 900 students is indicative of this problem. Many have been constructed more cheaply than even planned, with local corruption of construction efforts for government kickbacks. It will be interesting to see if parents make accusations to this effect, as they are prone to do these days.

Many China watchers get nervous when they see the size of the army there. But the PLA is so huge in part to react to natural disasters like this, which are way beyond the ability of local rescue units to respond to adequately.

I just hope all the rabid anti-Chinese on this board and elsewhere will have the decency to separate their disdain for the government (which I also share) from the plight of the people.

I wish to God someone would teach these lazy international correspondents and journalists at home how to pronounce "Beijing." The "j" is a hard sound; not like the "j" in French.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Big_Bird



Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: Sometimes here sometimes there...

PostPosted: Mon May 12, 2008 8:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

bookemdanno wrote:
Sadly, most of the worst earthquakes in the past century have been in China.


Is it that they are the biggest, or is it just that China is so populous that any earthquake is going to take a huge toll on life?

Very sad, especially about the schools. I don't really want to think about it. I spent some time in Chengdu a few years ago, and it was sad to see the familiar city centre on my small screen for such tragic reasons. Crying or Very sad
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
chris_J2



Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: From Brisbane, Au.

PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2008 12:03 am    Post subject: Quake Reply with quote

Many Tibetans live side by side with the Han Chinese, in Sichuan. So anyone trying to politicise this tragic event, should bear that in mind.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bookemdanno



Joined: 30 Apr 2008

PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2008 6:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Big Bird:

Good question: the Himalayan tectonic plates are some of the most volatile in the world so minor earthquakes often occur. The big ones usually hit in the countryside (nearly 70% of all Chinese still live there), with the notable exception of Tangshan in 1976.

Yes, population density plays a large part as does inadequate or ill-timed rescue-relief efforts (though these have improved greatly in the past two decades and are, of course, not nearly as bad as in Myanmar or Bangladesh when it comes to monsoon flooding).

Also, as mentioned before, the quality of building construction in rural areas leaves much to be desired. China has only four building codes: 1) international standard, limited to certain districts in key metro areas; 2) northeast, which uses thicker walls because of the cold; 3) northern and north central zone, less thick and sturdy and 4) southern and southwestern (including most of Sichuan) which is thinner and usually flimsy because of warmer climes.

Building inspections are sporadic and haphazard, although again it depends on the expense in construction and the cost of owning or renting there.

Look for the death toll to mount upward of 15,000, perhaps even 20,000 before all the bodies are dug from the rubble. And the number of injured will be triple that, especially given the woefully inadequate medical facilities in rural areas. I've been in a few of them; they are atrocious, unsanitary, overcrowded, understaffed and underequipped.

By contrast, the large metro areas have some that rival and even exceed those in Seoul and Tokyo in every respect with the addition of traditional Chinese medicine.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
chris_J2



Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: From Brisbane, Au.

PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2008 3:00 pm    Post subject: Quake Reply with quote

List of deadliest earthquakes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_earthquakes#Deadliest_earthquakes_on_record

Yingxiu township in Wenchuan county was especially hardhit. "Only 2,000 were found alive in the town of 12,000, according to He Biao, a local official.

"They could hear people under the debris calling for help, but no one could, because there were no professional rescue teams," state television quoted He as saying.

About 60,000 people were unaccounted for in Wenchuan, where 600 armed police were due to arrive before dawn on Wednesday."

Also worrying, is the state of dams:

"Li said several reservoirs upstream of the Min river, a tributary of the Yangtze flowing through the quake-hit region, were "in a very dangerous status and the dams may burst".

Flood relief authorities had ordered officials to "thoroughly inspect and remove hidden dangers of dams", Xinhua said. Landslides had blocked the path of a river in Sichuan's neighbouring province of Gansu."

The main 3 gorges dam withstood the earthquake, but I don't know what the effect of a massive flash flood from a collapsed dam upstream, would do?

Source: SMH http://news.smh.com.au/death-toll-from-china-quake-past-12000/20080514-2dxe.html
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Big_Bird



Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: Sometimes here sometimes there...

PostPosted: Wed May 14, 2008 1:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

bookemdanno wrote:
especially given the woefully inadequate medical facilities in rural areas. I've been in a few of them; they are atrocious, unsanitary, overcrowded, understaffed and underequipped.


Yes, I've been in a couple of them. The first one (in a relatively wealthy Eastern province) I went to was so dirty. My Chinese colleagues took me there because I had the flu. I couldn't see the point of going to the hospital on account of the flu, but they insisted (probably thinking they were looking after me). I wanted to walk straight back out as it was quite possible I'd end up more sick than when I went in! The second one was in the rural west. I went to see if I could buy some disinfectant, as it seemed impossible to buy it anywhere else. The nurses were giggling and very nice, but their uniforms were absolutely filthy, and they (the nurses) were spitting on the hospital floors!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Current Events Forum All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group

TEFL International Supports Dave's ESL Cafe
TEFL Courses, TESOL Course, English Teaching Jobs - TEFL International