MW 7.9 SW China 69,159 confirmed dead; 17,469 still missing

[HURAKAN]

Man rescued 139 hours after SW China earthquake

BEICHUAN, Sichuan Province, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A man was rescued at 9:15 a.m. Sunday from a collapsed hospital of Beichuan in southwest China's Sichuan Province, 139 hours after the May 12 earthquake.

The man, named Tang Xiong, was only slightly bruised and in his right senses when he was pulled out, said the rescuers. His wife was rescued Thursday.

[fasterdisaster]

Just FYI, the death toll's up to 32,477 with 220,109 injured

[HURAKAN]

Students of school hit worst in China's earthquake resume class

Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China

MIANYANG, Sichuan, May 19 (Xinhua) -- More than 500 students from Beichuan Middle School, whose 1,300 schoolmates and teachers were killed or missing in last week's massive earthquake, resumed classes on Monday

The 508 students, who were to attend the college entrance exam in the near future, were relocated to Mianyang, Sichuan Province, after their school in Beichuan County was devastated in the earthquake.

The students sang the national anthem without music accompaniment before classes began at 9:30 a.m. in the training center of Changhong Group, a major Chinese television set maker.

"We were horrified and saddened by the earthquake. However, we must study harder and enter the colleges, so that we can come back to rebuild our homeland better," said Liu Zhijuan, one of the students.

Two teaching buildings in the school were leveled and the other, where the 508 students were having classes, was badly damaged. Beichuan Middle School could be the one of worst life losses in last week's earthquake, as more than 1,300 of the school's 2,900 students and teachers were either dead or missing.

The Sichuan provincial government provided the 508 students with textbooks and teaching materials, while the Mianyang Education Bureau sent local teachers to help teach.

Changhong Group, besides providing its training center for the use as classrooms, decided to provide fund to build a new Beichuan Middle School. The group's donation of a new school sign brought many students and teachers into tears.

The annual national college entrance examination was postponed in 40 quake-affected counties and districts in Sichuan Province, including Beichuan.

The new date for the examination -- originally scheduled for June 7 to 9 -- is yet to be set.

China's death toll rose to 34,073 as 12 a.m. Monday, while the final figure was estimated to exceed 50,000.

[HURAKAN]

Death toll nearly 40,000: Govt

The confirmed death toll in China's Sichuan province from last week's earthquake has risen by more than 6,000 to 39,577, a government official said Tuesday.

Another 236,359 people have been injured, Li Chengyun, the vice governor of Sichuan, told a news conference.

The death toll in Sichuan given by Li is an increase of 6,007 from the official figure he gave on Monday.

The central government earlier Tuesday said that more than 66,000 people were dead or missing from the May 12 earthquake, which registered 8.0 on the Richter scale.

The central government's confirmed death toll in Sichuan and neighbouring areas on Tuesday was lower -- at 32,361 -- than the figure given by Li.

However the Sichuan and central government authorities have repeatedly given different figures.

[HURAKAN]

China earthquake death toll rises to 40,075

The death toll from last week's devastating earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province was 40,075 nationwide as of 6 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the Information Office of the State Council.

Another 247,645 people were injured in the 8.0-magnitude quake that jolted southwestern Sichuan Province last Monday.

At a press conference earlier Tuesday, the information office also said that 32,361 people were missing as of Tuesday at noon.

According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, about 5.36 million buildings had been confirmed destroyed and more than 21 million were damaged in the earthquake as of Monday evening.

The quake affected 434 counties in 10 provinces and municipalities, the ministry said in a statement issued Tuesday.

As of Monday at midnight, up to 360,159 people trapped during the quake had been rescued and evacuated to safety, among them 6,375 excavated from debris, according to military sources.

Military rescuers had reached all 1,044 of the worst-hit villages in 134 townships in Sichuan Province as of Tuesday evening.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs allocated 278,462 tents, 783,984 quilts and 1.78 million items of cotton-padded clothes to the quake zones as of 1 p.m. Tuesday.

The provincial power grids in quake-hit Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi as well as Chongqing Municipality, are back to normal operation, while the electricity supplies to Gansu, Chongqing and Shaanxi have resumed their normal levels.

Power was out in the worst-hit Beichuan, Maoxian and Wolong counties, the information office said.

Editor: Amber Yao

[HURAKAN]

New China death toll: 51,151

BEIJING - The death toll from last week’s earthquake in southwest China has risen to 51,151, with 29,328 others still missing, the government said today.

Another 288,431 people were injured in the May 12 quake, Guo Weimin, a spokesman for China’s State Council, or Cabinet, told a news conference.

The confirmed death toll showed a rise of nearly 9,800 from yesterday.

China issued an international appeal today for 3.3 million tents and temporary shelters for those left homeless by last week’s devastating earthquake.

"The number is very big. We need more than 3.3 million tents or pop-up shelters," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a press briefing.

"We hope the international community will prioritise tents in providing assistance to China."

The quake, which measured 8.0 on the Richter scale, struck southwest China’s Sichuan province.

While thanking the international community for relief materials provided so far, Qin said China still needed much more, including blankets, clothing, shoes and food aid.

More than a week after the quake, many survivors were living in appalling conditions in the quake-hit zones amid recurring rain showers, according to witnesses and media reports.

Authorities are facing a major humanitarian challenge to supply adequate shelter, food and medicine while over-stretched medical teams are battling to prevent epidemics breaking out.

[HURAKAN]

UN chief to visit quake ravaged China, death toll passes 55,000
12 hours ago

DUJIANGYAN, China (AFP) — UN chief Ban Ki-moon will on Saturday visit China's earthquake zone, the government said, as it warned that rebuilding the area where more than than 55,000 died would take years.

Ban will visit a small village in the remote mountains of Sichuan province, which was at the epicentre of the May 12 quake and was almost completely flattened, the Chinese foreign ministry said Friday.

Ban will have travelled from one disaster zone to another after spending two days in neighbouring Myanmar, where he pressed the ruling junta to speed up efforts to help victims of the horrendous May 2-3 cyclone.

The announcement of Ban's trip -- which was confirmed by the UN late Friday -- came shortly after China raised the official quake death toll to 55,740, a rise of 4,500 from the day before, with another 24,960 people missing.

Chinese officials also warned of rising disease dangers for the millions of survivors and that rebuilding the quake-ravaged areas would take at least three years.

But there was some positive news with another dramatic survival story, this time of an elderly couple who had been stranded for 11 days.

More than 5.47 million people were left homeless in southwestern Sichuan province -- or around one in five in the affected area that is the size of South Korea -- with most now crammed into overflowing tents or stuck outside.

"Now is the peak season for disease outbreaks and the situation is extremely grim," Sichuan Vice Governor Li Chengyun told a news conference in Beijing.

He said people badly needed tents and medical supplies, especially antibiotics, although he noted no outbreaks of disease had yet been reported.

China has made a global appeal for 3.3 million tents and ordered the construction within three months of one million simple homes made of light materials.

But Li warned it would take much longer to rebuild communities, not to mention addressing the lasting psychological scars inflicted by an earthquake so powerful it was felt in Bangkok.

"We aim to improve roads and infrastructure and build new villages, towns and cities within three years," the vice governor said.

"The mountains were basically shaken loose by the earthquake, causing mud flows and landslides, making reconstruction much more difficult than the work before the earthquake."

In the hills above Dujiangyan, about 50 kilometres (32 miles) from the quake's epicentre, people were working overtime to build pre-fabricated homes.

"We need tents and shelter," said Song Guosu, 58, one of more than 100 people waiting in rudimentary shelters as bulldozers moved across a muddy field nearby to clear land for makeshift housing.

Officials said the government's top priority was rescuing anyone trapped under the rubble 11 days after the quake.

No one has been rescued from under the debris since Tuesday, although the state-run Xinhua news agency reported another improbable story of survival.

An elderly couple, aged 92 and 84, had been trapped in their cottage on a mountaintop in a village near the top of Mount Qingcheng, a summit in Sichuan that is revered in the Taoist faith.

A police team found the couple, Tian Yueqing and Cao Shuyun, on Thursday, and carried them to the foot of the mountain on stretchers, Xinhua said.

Such rescue stories have inspired the Chinese public, who this week observed an unprecedented three days of national mourning for the tragedy.

The Beijing Olympic torch, which has been greeted enthusiastically across China after a protest-marred international leg, arrived Friday in the bustling financial hub Shanghai, but the mood was sombre.

"We are here to support China," said Ren Fufu, a retiree attending the opening ceremony.

"The torch must continue its journey because it shows our solidarity with the earthquake victims and the Beijing Olympics are a world event," she said.

To raise 13 billion-dollars for relief and reconstruction work, the government this week ordered five percent cuts to this year's national budget.

People from within China and abroad have also responded to the call for financial help, with 24.6 billion yuan (3.5 billion dollars) collected in donations for relief and rescue work, the government said Friday.

Close ally Pakistan said it was sending 21,000 tents and four plane-loads of relief goods including medicines, water and blankets.

[HURAKAN]

China earthquake toll rises to 60,000, but premier says it could be more than 80,000

The State Council, China's Cabinet, said Saturday the latest confirmed death toll for the quake _ China's biggest disaster in three decades _ was 60,560, with 26,221 people still missing.

Full Story

[lurkey]

Video shot seconds after the quake

[HurricaneBill]

China quake survivor freed after 11 days

[lurkey]

China quake: 69 dams near collapse

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- China warned Sunday that dozens of dams were in danger of collapse in Sichuan province following the 7.9-maginitude earthquake that devastated the region earlier this month.

The warning came as authorities revised up the death toll from the May 12 disaster to 62,664 with another 23,775 missing and a powerful magnitude 5.8 aftershock hit the area killing at least one person and injuring 400 others.

The aftershock -- the strongest since another of equal magnitude a day after the quake -- was felt in the provincial capital Chengdu, 240 kilometers from the aftershock's epicenter.

China's water ministry on Sunday warned that 69 dams were close to bursting their banks.

It was not immediately clear what the risk presented by the damaged dams presented. Earlier dam scares have seen China mobilize its military to perform emergency engineering work on damaged structures.

Meanwhile, state media reported Sunday that rescue workers had two days earlier pulled an 80-year-old paraplegic man from the rubble of his home, 11 days after he was trapped by the quake.

The man, Xiao Zhihu, had been trapped for nearly 266 hours.

The beam of Xiao's house in Mianzhu City collapsed during the quake, trapping him, China's state-run television CCTV said.

The station said Xiao's wife could not go and call for help. She brought him food, until he was found and freed by rescue crews Friday.

Since the quake struck, workers have made several other dramatic rescues. But the numbers have dwindled in recent days as time has passed.

China's central government put the death toll from the quake at 60,560 with another 26,221 people missing and 353,290 injured.

The government estimates that 45 million people, mostly in the Sichuan province, were affected by the massive earthquake and that five million were left homeless.

On Saturday, China's Premier Wen Jiabao gave United Nation Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a dramatic look at the damage, taking him to a town near the epicenter.

"The world will not forget," Ban told Wen, who appealed the U.N. chief to help raise international aid for the region.

Wen said no infectious disease outbreaks have developed despite the harsh living conditions for survivors. Wen optimistically predicted that life would return to normal in the quake area in about three months.

The central government estimates that 45 million people, mostly in the Sichuan province, were affected by the massive earthquake and that 5 million were left homeless. Video Watch rural villagers' struggle for daily survival »

China put out an urgent call for tents and medical supplies to help victims of the earthquake.

[JonathanBelles]

6 killed, 1,000 hurt in China aftershock

# Story Highlights
# NEW: USGS says aftershock measured 6.0, not 5.8 as originally reported
# China's water ministry says 69 dams near collapse after quake
# Paraplegic rescued 11 days after May 12 earthquake, state-run TV reports
# Death toll surpasses 60,000, officials say

CHENGDU, China (CNN) -- A powerful 6.0-magnitude aftershock hit China's Sichuan province Sunday, reportedly destroyed more than 70,000 homes in the region where at least 60,000 people were killed by a powerful earthquake on May 12.

State media said at least six people died and more than 1,000 were hurt as a result of the latest seismic jolt, which came as Chinese officials warned that 69 dams in the province damaged in the original quake were in danger of bursting their banks.

Shaanxi experienced the highest death toll as a result of the aftershock, with four people losing their lives. One each died in Sichuan and Gansu.

The aftershock damaged more than 200,000 other homes, according to state media. It also damaged another dam, cutting off several more roads in the region.

Mudslides and rockslides caused by the quake and aftershocks created a lake to form in southwest Sichuan. Authorities are worried that the barriers could burst and cause massive flooding, the Xinhua news agency said.

The nearly 2,000 police officers and soldiers sent to the lake planned to use dynamite to break down part of the barriers in an effort to control the flow of water, which was rising.

Sichuan has experienced dozens of aftershocks since a devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake on May 12.

But Sunday's aftershock was the strongest since a 5.8-magnitude shook the region a day after the initial quake.

The aftershock was felt in Chengdu, one of the largest cities in Sichuan province and about 150 miles from the epicenter of the aftershock. A CNN employee, on the 24th floor of a high-rise hotel, reported that the building swayed.

Meanwhile, China's top economic planning agency urged oil and power companies to make sure there are enough supplies for earthquake-hit areas and for the Beijing Olympic Games in August, The Associated Press reported.

The National Development and Reform Commission said coal production should resume as quickly as possible in Sichuan province, which accounts for 4 percent of the country's coal production, AP reported.

The agency also said the country's top two oil producers -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, and PetroChina -- should ensure fuel production, especially diesel for the summer, according to AP.

On Saturday, when China's Premier Wen Jiabao gave United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a dramatic look at the damage, a strong aftershock shook the town they were in. Video Watch Ban Ki-moon's tour of damage »

Meanwhile, the death toll from this month's earthquake in China reached 62,664, a government official said Sunday. Another 23,775 are still missing.

At the Sunday news conference, a civil affairs ministry official said rescue workers have pulled alive 6,537 people from the rubble of the May 12 earthquake.

The earthquake has left more than 5,000 children without their parents and more than 4,000 elderly without caregivers, China's state-run news agency said Sunday.

A Water Ministry official said at the same conference that 69 dams are in danger of bursting in Sichuan province. Video Watch a report on dangerous quake-made lakes and dams »

Since the quake struck, workers have made several dramatic rescues. But the numbers have dwindled in recent days as time has passed. And continued rain in the coming days threatened to make relief efforts more difficult.

On Friday, rescue workers pulled an 80-year-old paraplegic man from the rubble of his home on Friday, 11 days after the quake, state media reported Sunday.

The man, Xiao Zhihu, had been trapped for nearly 266 hours.

The beam of Xiao's house in Mianzhu City in Sichuan province collapsed during the quake, trapping him, China's state-run television CCTV said.


The station said Xiao's wife could not go and call for help. She brought him food until he was found and freed by rescue crews Friday.

The government estimates that 45 million people, mostly in Sichuan province, were affected by the earthquake and that 5 million were left homeless.

[HURAKAN]

1-child policy has exceptions after China quake
By CARA ANNA – 51 minutes ago

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese officials said Monday that the country's one-child policy exempts families with a child killed, severely injured or disabled in the country's devastating earthquake.

Those families can obtain a certificate to have another child, the Chengdu Population and Family Planning Committee in the capital of hard-hit Sichuan province said.

With so many shattered families asking questions, the Chengdu committee is clarifying existing one-child policy guidelines, said a committee official surnamed Wang.

"There are just a lot of cases now, so we need to clarify our policies," said Wang, who declined to elaborate.

The May 12 quake was particularly painful to many Chinese because it killed so many only children.

The earthquake has left more than 65,000 people dead so far, with more than 23,000 missing. Officials have not been able to estimate the number of children killed.

Chinese couples who have more than one child are commonly punished by fines. The announcement says that if a child born illegally was killed in the quake, the parents will no longer have to pay fines for that child — but the previously paid fines won't be refunded.

If the couple's legally born child is killed and the couple is left with an illegally born child under the age of 18, that child can be registered as the legal child — an important move that gives the child previously denied rights including free nine years of compulsory education.

China's one-child policy was launched in the late 1970s to control China's exploding population and ensure better education and health care. The law includes certain exceptions for ethnic groups, rural families and families where both parents are only children.

The government says the policy has prevented an additional 400 million births, but critics say it has also led to forced abortions, sterilizations and a dangerously imbalanced sex ratio as local authorities pursue sometimes severe birth quotas set by Beijing and families abort girls out of a traditional preference for male heirs.

Though commonly called a one-child policy, the rules offer a welter of exceptions and loopholes, some of them put into practice because of widespread opposition to the limits.

For example, in large parts of rural China, most families are allowed a second-child, especially if the first was a girl. Local officials often have wide discretion on enforcement, a fact that has made the policy susceptible to corruption.

Many Chinese have shown interest in adopting earthquake orphans, and Monday's announcement says there are no limits on the number of earthquake orphans a family can adopt. The adoptions, or even a future birth to a family that adopts an orphan, will not face the limitations of the one-child policy.

Officials estimated last week that the quake left about 4,000 orphans, but they warned they would make every effort to connect children with other family members.

[HURAKAN]

China: May 12 Quake Toll Tops 67,000

The death toll from the killer earthquake that struck southwest China's Sichuan province on May 12 rose to 67,183 on Tuesday, while another 20,790 are reported missing, a government spokesman said. The new death toll was a rise of just over 2,100 from Monday's confirmed tally of 65,080.

"As of noon on May 27, the earthquake has caused 67,183 deaths," cabinet spokesman Guo Weimin told a press conference. He said the confirmed number of injured stood at 361,822.

Premier Wen Jiabao has already said he expects the death toll from the May 12 earthquake to eventually surpass 80,000.

Separately, an aftershock measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale hit Qingchuan in Sichuan at 16:03 pm, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

by RTT Staff Writer

[HURAKAN]

Officials in China rush to evacuate 80,000
By AUDRA ANG – 55 minutes ago

MIANYANG, China (AP) — Chinese officials rushed Tuesday to evacuate another 80,000 people in the path of potential floodwaters building up behind a quake-spawned dam, state media reported, as soldiers scraped a channel to try to drain away the threat.

Emergency workers would try to complete the evacuation by midnight Tuesday, taking the number of people moved out of the threatened valley to 160,000, from more than 30 townships, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The Tangjiashan lake in northern Sichuan province, formed when a massive landslide blocked a river, is one of dozens of fragile dams created during the earthquake that pose a new destructive threat in the disaster zone.

Soldiers hauled explosives through the mountains to reach the area, and the official China Daily said Tuesday on its Web Site they were "preparing to dynamite the barrier." State television showed live footage of heavy earth-moving equipment being used to carve out a 200-yard channel to drain the water.

"We are prepared to get rid of the trees by chopping and explosion. After that, the second batch of equipment will be moved in," Liu Ning, chief engineer at the Ministry of Water Resources, was quoted as saying on CCTV.

The lake is swelling behind a landslide near Beichuan, one of the towns hit hardest by the May 12 tremor that devastated Sichuan.

The number of deaths from the quake has climbed further toward an expected toll of 80,000 or more. The Cabinet said Tuesday that 67,183 people were confirmed killed — up by about 2,000 from a day earlier — and 20,790 were sill missing.

Also on Tuesday, health officials said higher-than-normal rates of stomach pains and fever had been reported among the millions of quake survivors, but that no major disease outbreaks had occurred.

Some 5 million people were left homeless by the quake, and many of them are living in tents or makeshift communities that are clustered throughout the disaster zone.

Qi Xiaoqiu, the director of disease prevention at the health ministry, told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday the quake had knocked out much of the region's health infrastructure, 12 field hospitals had been erected and tens of thousands of health professionals were working in the zone.

"With the destruction by the quake, the living and sanitary conditions have worsened for the local population," Qi said. "Their physical conditions are weakened (and they are) more vulnerable to disease."

Diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis and diarrhea remained a threat, but so far there had been no outbreaks reported, he said.

About 1,800 soldiers clambered up mountain paths to reach Tangjiashan with plans to blast through the debris and drain the water, the Xinhua reported. It did not say when the blasting operation would take place.

The Tangjiashan lake is one of dozens caused when the magnitude 7.9 quake sent millions of tons of earth and rock tumbling into some of the region's narrow valleys. Some rising floodwaters have already swallowed villages.

Tangjiashan now holds 34 billion gallons of water and was rising by more than three feet every 24 hours, Liu said. Xinhua said troops were working around the clock to remove at least 1.8 million cubic feet of debris to build the channel, which would not be completed before June 5.

Pressure is building behind the dams as rivers and streams feed into the newly formed lakes. Officials fear the loose soil and debris walls of the dams could crumble easily, especially once the water level reaches the top and begins cascading over.

Adding to the threat, thunderstorms were forecast for parts of Sichuan this week — a foretaste of the coming summer rainy season that accounts for more than 70 percent of the 2 feet of rain that falls on the area each year.

Also in northern Sichuan in Qingchuan county, 1,300 people have been evacuated from Guanzhuang because of landslide worries. Local official Li Guoping said plans were being drawn up to evacuate all 23,000 people in the area if needed.

He said landslides that blocked rivers had formed 10 lakes, but only three had the potential to be dangerous if there were heavy rains. "I worry about the start of the rainy season," Li said.

Aftershocks have rumbled across the region since the major quake — including one Tuesday measured by the U.S. Geological Survey at magnitude 5.7 — adding to jitters among survivors and in some cases causing more damage. No damage or injuries were reported from Tuesday's tremor.

A major temblor Sunday knocked down thousands of buildings that had survived the initial quake, and killed eight people. One quake expert said Tuesday that aftershocks in the area could continue for several months.

"Judging from previous earthquakes of a similar magnitude, this time the aftershocks may last for two or three months," He Yongnian, a former deputy director of China Seismological Bureau, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

The aftershocks were likely to grow weaker as time passed, he said.

[HURAKAN]

Fearing Floods, China Rushes to Evacuate 150,000


Chinese authorities fear flooding from a lake formed by landslides that dammed a major river in Tangjiashan, above, following this month’s earthquake.

SHANGHAI — The Chinese authorities are evacuating 150,000 people threatened by possible flooding from a lake in southwest China formed by landslides following this month’s earthquake, and military engineers struggled Tuesday to dig sluiceways to drain the water safely.

The landslides dammed a major river in Tangjiashan, just north of Beichuan, one of the towns hardest hit by the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan Province. Relief officials have ordered the immediate evacuation of those in the region whose towns would be swept away if the dam burst.

Parts of western Sichuan Province have seen heavy rains in recent days, causing water levels to rise fast on the dammed river.

With roads throughout the area destroyed, army teams dropped earthmoving equipment close to the lake by helicopter, and have been ordered to work around the clock to create sluiceways.

As fears about flooding intensified, the earthquake zone was struck by another powerful aftershock on Tuesday. Scientists said the earthquake registered a magnitude of 5.4. Hundreds of miles away and 30 minutes later, a 5.7-magnitude tremor was registered in Shaanxi Province. Chinese state media said that more than 420,000 houses were destroyed by the two aftershocks, The Associated Press reported, but it was unclear whether the homes were still inhabited.

Meanwhile, the official death toll from the May 12 earthquake rose again to 67,183. More than 20,000 people remain missing.

On Sunday, another powerful aftershock struck northern Sichuan Province. The aftershock, with an estimated magnitude of 6.0, killed at least eight people, injured more than 400 and toppled 70,000 buildings in the mountains to the north of Chengdu, the provincial capital, according to the government.

The aftershocks have renewed the terror for millions of earthquake survivors who are living in tent camps, subsisting on instant noodles and waiting for the earth to stop shaking.

[HURAKAN]

China relief chopper crashes as 'quake lake' set to drain
33 minutes ago

MIANYANG, China (AFP) — A military helicopter crashed while evacuating injured survivors of China's earthquake, state media said Sunday, underlining the lingering risks of a disaster that has killed more than 69,000.

The Mi-171 chopper crashed Saturday amid fog and strong turbulence as its crew of five was evacuating 14 injured residents from devastated areas of southwestern Sichuan province, state-run Xinhua news agency said.

No information on casualties was given, but Xinhua said late Sunday the helicopter was still missing and no one onboard had been found.

The rescue effort was difficult since the crash site was among canyons surrounded by mountains, Xinhua said, citing military sources.

President Hu Jintao has ordered local authorities to conduct search and rescue operations, Xinhua said.

The crash highlights the ongoing challenges China faces as it seeks to respond to a tragedy that has also left about 15 million people homeless and raised fears of disease outbreaks in affected areas.

The helicopter had ferried a team of military medical experts to Li county and was returning with the injured residents when it lost contact with ground command, Xinhua reported, later confirming the chopper had crashed.

The death toll from the quake, China's worst disaster in a generation, rose to 69,016 on Sunday, with another 18,830 still missing, the government said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Chinese waited anxiously for the start of drainage work on a menacing lake created by the May 12 quake.

Army and police crews who had toiled for a week to dig a diversion channel for the Tangjiashan "quake lake" wrapped up late Saturday and authorities said the rising waters could begin spilling into the channel as early as Sunday.

The lake, formed when a huge landslide blocked the Jian River, has emerged as the most serious lingering threat to the region's traumatised citizens, as it poses a flood risk to areas populated by more than one million people.

State television had said earlier that plans to use explosives to breach the lake had been abandoned amid fears such a blast could destabilise the rubble.

Still, more than 197,000 people have been evacuated in case the controlled water drainage turns into a flood, officials told AFP, with more than a million others on standby.

"About 1.3 million people are prepared for evacuation," a disaster relief official in Mianyang city, downstream from the lake, who gave only the surname Pu, told AFP on Saturday.

"If the water drainage goes as planned peacefully, they won't have to."

Officials have expressed confidence that the risk of a disastrous flood is now remote.

"The lake problem is under control -- we do not have any fears there will be an uncontrollable flood," said Han Guijun, a top official in quake-devastated Beichuan county.

There are about three dozen such lakes in Sichuan, 28 of which were at risk of bursting, Xinhua reported earlier.

Children's Day, normally a joyous occasion in China, was bittersweet this year -- coloured by sadness and anger for many in the region who lost children in the disaster.

In the town of Wufu, residents gathered Sunday to mark the occasion at the remains of a school, its rubble decorated with framed photographs of dead children.

"This is all because of corruption! They didn't spend enough on the school and now our children are dead," shouted one man, the grandfather of a child killed when the school collapsed.

"Why can't they build better schools? The politicians are corrupt!" he said.

An estimated 7,000 schools collapsed in the quake, killing more than 11,000 children and teachers. The disaster has sparked accusations that corruption was to blame for shoddy school construction.

China has vowed to investigate such charges.

But in the nearby town of Leigu, the focus was on the youngsters who survived, many now orphaned.

"We have to do everything we can to bring love and happiness to the children," Huo Jun, the principal of a Leigu kindergarten, told AFP.

"The psychological scars brought on by the earthquake are huge, but we can overcome them."

[angelwing]

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/8-6-3/71353.html

Nuclear Explosion Occurs Near Epicenter of the Sichuan Earthquake

Boxun News, a Chinese-language Web site based outside China, reported that an unnamed expert has claimed that there was a nuclear explosion near the epicenter of the Sichuan earthquake, based on witness reports and the discovery of concrete rubble believed to have come from an underground military installation. The news of this nuclear explosion has raised questions about the cause of the earthquake.

Mr. He, a local resident, stated that when the earthquake occurred on May 12, people saw something erupt from the top of a mountain next to the valley, "It looked like toothpaste being squeezed out," said He. "No, it wasn't [magma]. It was these concrete pieces. The eruption lasted about three minutes."

According to a China News Services (CNS) report on May 31, 2008, paramedics from People's Liberation Army (PLA) hospitals and psychologists from Beijing onsite May 23 found concrete debris at the bottom of a valley near the epicenter. The half-mile-wide valley was covered with debris 10 - 20 inches thick, covering the valley floor for almost 1.5 miles.

No major construction was occurring in the area at the time of the earthquake.

The thickness of the concrete pieces seemed to match that used in China's underground military bases, according to Boxun's expert. He explained that while there are documented cases that earthquakes cause volcanic eruptions, there are no accounts of eruptions ejecting concrete.

Based on the CNS report and timing of the eruption at the scene, there seemed to be no evidence of natural volcanic activity. The expert stated he was certain a nuclear explosion shattered the underground concrete structures, hurling debris into the air.

At least one of China's nuclear military bases is located in Mianyang City, Sichuan, near the epicenter.

Chinese Internet surfers commented that right after the quake military Special Forces blocked traffic heading toward the epicenter on the mountain, and men in white chemical protective clothing in military vehicles were also spotted driving toward the mountain. Rescue personnel near the epicenter were all military, according to witnesses.

The expert believes the nuclear explosion was not confined to the underground test area and has caused radiation contamination, stating that in a call to Beijing he recommended authorities accept help from other countries, seal the area, find and provide help to those who had been exposed to contamination during the rescue work, and take emergency measures to prevent water contamination.

The expert believes that the nuclear explosion caused the recent 8.0 magnitude Sichuan earthquake in China. However, other experts referenced by Boxun withheld judgment as to whether the explosion caused the earthquake or the earthquake the explosion.

[HURAKAN]

The Power of Chinese Netizens After the Earthquake
Using the Internet, information and help flowed freely

May 12, 2008, was a sad day for Chinese people. The 8.0-magnitude earthquake in Wenchuan County of Sichuan Province led to the deaths of at least 69,100 people. Additionally, 373,577 people were counted as injured and 18,230 still listed as missing, while 45.7 million people were affected by the disaster.

From that day on, more than 1.3 billion Chinese people tightly solidified and everyone paid attention to one thing everyday, the salvation after the earthquake. Chinese were conscious that motherland was deeply in crisis and brethrens were deeply in trouble, so we should do some help. Internet was the shortcut to participate in the salvation for many Chinese people. It is estimated that there are about 225 million network users, the largest number in the world. Internet is an open media and everyone can participate in it. A great number of network users joined the netizens caring for Wenchuan earthquake.

Using the Internet netizens covered the earthquake and the salvation, called on people to donate money and materials, offered information and suggestions for salvation, supervised the work of government, and so on. This catastrophic disaster aroused the civil conscience and responsibility of Chinese, and showed the power of Chinese netizens.

Chinese netizens were the first reporting on the Wenchuan earthquake. This earthquake took place suddenly and the earthquake zone is located in mountains. Before some news agencies getting the news, Chinese netizens feeling the quake in these areas had transmitted the information. After the earthquake, many netizens questioned and criticized the work of official earthquake forecast agencies.

A netizen on tianya.com left one remark, "Before May 12th, some strange nature phenomena predicting earthquakes appeared in earthquake zone and some local persons worried about earthquakes coming, but local officials and forecast agencies declared that the rumor of earthquake was baseless and people need not worry."

The netizen even intercepted the page from local government website as proof. Another netizen pointed that the website of the earthquake forecast agency of U.S. published the information of Wenchuan earthquake 960 seconds earlier than the counterpart of China. Then more netizens criticized the official forecast breach of duty. Under the pressure some officials had to clarify some things and defend for themselves.

Chinese netizens offered a great amount of useful information and advice for salvation. CCTV reported one thing showing the role of netizens. After the earthquake, Wenchuan County was isolated from outsides, and all roads to Wenchuan were blocked by collapsed mountains. PLA sent several helicopters to this area, but they did not find right places to land due to the poor weather and mountain areas. One netizen from Wenchuan published information on Internet that she knew one place right for helicopters landing. The information was transported by more than 2000 netizens quickly. At last, PLA got the information and contacted the netizen and helicopters successfully landed on Wenchuan with salvation materials.

After the earthquake, all main websites set up the special editions immediately and netizens left remarks encouraging and supporting people in disaster areas, calling on people to donate money and materials to victims. What is more important, netizens tightly supervise the salvation work of government. One piece of information published by netizens attracted attentions of all people on May 21.

One salvation tent for victims appeared in a neighborhood of Chengdu which did not belong to earthquake zone. More and more netizens doubted that some officials embezzled the salvation materials. Anger of people ascended immediately. Under the huge pressure the governor of Sichuan Province immediately expressed that provincial government would survey the issue and punish severely the officials for embezzling salvation materials in press conference on May 23. Then the Central government and Premier Wen Jiabao demanded governments forbidding embezzlement of salvation materials and keep the distribution of salvation materials open and transparent. Several officials breaching duty were dismissed.

Netizens set up overwhelming condition of public voices, which praised highly celebrities and companies with great donation and condemned those with little donation or improper words. Some netizens made donator lists of rich persons and companies. Movie star Jackie Chan donated 10 million RMB soon after earthquake, so he was set up as the model by netizens. One Taiwan Corporation, donating 100 million RMB, was highly praised by netizens.

Some netizens covered that Japanese public showed great sympathy to China's earthquake and even one member of Japanese salvation team working in the earthquake area quit due to self-accusation because he did not save one life. The coverage improved Japan's image in Chinese eyes, while most Chinese people hated Japan because of Yasukuni Shrine before 2007. On the contrary, one rich boss became the object criticized by netizens because of his parsimony and disputing words, and even some netizens called for boycotting his company. Later on, the boss had to add more donations and make an apology. Recently movie star Sharon Stone quickly became the object condemned by Chinese netizens because she said Wenchuan earthquake was due to China's bad "karma".

After Wenchuan earthquake, the power of Chinese netizens is rising. The power will promote the formation of civil community and democratization in China. However, the power is not bound to bring positive results. Some Chinese netizens are not mature and rational enough now. First, a few netizens spread rumors and some unconfirmed information, which brought scares or vilified others.

Second, many Chinese netizens are emotional youth, called "Feng Qing" in Chinese, and they tend to lose rationality and say some extreme words. These words may instigate furies, violate personal rights, and promote nationalism. For an example, some netizens accused McDonald's of little donation, comparing with its huge profit from China, and called for boycotting McDonald's. In fact McDonald's Company donated more than 10 million RMB and their accusation was unfair. Therefore, Chinese netizens need more objectivity and rationality, less prejudice and emotion.

[lurkey]

Aftershock near China quake lake


A strong aftershock in south-west China has rocked a lake formed by a recent earthquake that has been threatening to burst its banks, state media reported.

The 20-second, magnitude five aftershock caused landslides on mountains near the Tangjiashan lake.

Soldiers have dug a diversion channel to help drain the lake and 250,000 people have been evacuated from the area since a devastating 12 May tremor.

The lake threatens to flood about one million people in the disaster zone.