The Shaking Continues in China
The USGS map shows 74 earthquakes in the area including the original 7.9 event with 4 in the last 24 hours on the earthquake list. After tapering off a bit the magnitude jumped back up to a 5.6 yesterday.
The latest BBC report on the disaster: Quake effort resumes after panic
Rescue efforts are resuming in Beichuan in China, after the entire city was evacuated amid fears that it could be engulfed by a river bursting its banks.
…Beichuan is close to the epicentre of Monday’s devastating quake, in which it is feared about 50,000 people died.
On Saturday the number of confirmed deaths rose to 28,881. The Chinese authorities say that about five million people have been made homeless by the disaster.
Several people were dug out of the rubble on Saturday, including a 31-year-old woman in Deyang city, and a 33-year-old miner in Shifang, both about 124 hours after being buried.
…The Chinese government has organised a massive search and rescue effort. It released figures on Saturday demonstrating the scale of the operation.
It said 198,347 people had been recorded injured, not just in Sichuan, where the quake struck, but in Gansu, Shaanxi, Chongqing, Hubei, Henan, and Guizhou provinces.
On Friday 26,801 personnel were sent on rescue and relief missions, while 34,000 medical staff were “in the frontline”, it said.
During the day 2,538 people were recovered from the ruins – 165 of whom were still alive.
It said some 181,460 tents, 220,000 quilts, and 170,000 cotton-padded garments had been despatched to the disaster area.
Rescue teams from South Korea, Singapore and Russia have joined Japanese and Taiwanese experts taking part in the massive search.
The continued shaking is taking a toll on the infrastructure and the people. The adrenalin rush can only be sustained for a limited period and it takes a toll on the body. Even young, uninjured, healthy people with a comfortable bed and solid meals will have problems bouncing back to continue the effort.
