Disaster Relief Update
Rescue and recovery efforts continue in China and Myanmar
Paramilitary police clear out a collapsed building in the town of Tashui, in China's southwest Sichuan province on Monday, May 19, 2008. (Photo: ©Greg Baker/AP Images)
The people of China paused for three minutes Monday at 2:28 p.m. to mourn the thousands of lives lost in the massive earthquake that hit central China one week ago.
The quake killed at least 34,000 people and injured another 245,000 across Sichuan province—the epicenter of the 7.9-magnitude quake.
Rescue and recovery efforts continued in spite of the aftershocks that have rocked the region, but not without severe cost. China's state media reported Monday that more than 200 workers repairing roads in Sichuan province were buried by mudslides over the last three days.
Relief supplies are pouring into China. Dozens of international agencies have sent aid to the quake-battered region, and many countries offered assistance, including the United States, India, France, Singapore, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Vietnam, and Poland.
Among the many supplies needed, clean water and sanitary facilities are essential to avoid major outbreaks of disease, says the World Health Organization (WHO). So far, no outbreaks have been reported.
"Ensuring supply of food and safe drinking water and trying to restore good sanitation are critical because these are the basic transmission routes for communicable diseases," says Hans Troedsson, WHO's representative to China.
On Sunday, two U.S. military planes—one from Hawaii, the other from Alaska—touched down in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. The jets carried blankets, water, tents, and generators. U.S. officials said future relief flights are possible.
In recent days, several U.S. companies—including UPS, Tyco Electronics, General Mills, and Cisco—have donated millions of dollars in cash, products, and services. Chinese Americans in Los Angeles responded to the tragedy in their native country by donating more than $200,000 to an earthquake relief fund.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and the international aid community praised the Chinese government's disaster response. In addition to sending 20,000 soldiers to the disaster area, the government has transported food, clothing, tents, and plastic sheeting to survivors.
Cyclone Victims Still in Need
China's quick response to the quake stands in stark contrast to the slow reaction of Myanmar's military government to the May 2 cyclone that has left 78,000 people dead and another 56,000 missing. Myanmar's military regime has been accused of preventing victims from receiving foreign relief aid—a situation that has sparked international outrage.
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| Cyclone Nargis survivors collect food at a refugee centre in Myang Mya, in the Irrawaddy Delta region of Myanmar on May 11, 2008. (Photo: ©Reuters) |
On Saturday, a French Navy ship carrying food, medication, and fresh water was turned away. While U.S. Marine flights have managed to deliver 500,000 pounds of aid to the capital city of Yangon, helicopters have not been permitted to fly directly into the disaster zone.
As the crisis in Myanmar grows more desperate each day, one relief agency predicts that thousands of children will die from hunger unless food reaches them immediately.
"We are extremely worried that many children in the affected areas are now suffering from acute malnourishment, the most serious level of hunger," says Jasmine Whitbread of Save the Children. "When people reach this stage, they can die in a matter of days."
Myanmar government officials claim that they are distributing the millions of dollars' worth of relief supplies that have been donated from local and international agencies. But the international aid workers are skeptical.
United Nations humanitarian chief John Holmes arrived in Yangon Sunday evening to meet with military leaders and survey what is happening on the ground.
"He's going . . . to find out what's really going on on the ground to get a much better picture of how the response is going and . . . to see how much we can help them scale up this response," says UN spokeswoman Amanda Pitt.
How You Can Help
If you are interested in supporting relief efforts in China and Myanmar, you and your parent or guardian can get more information from the Web sites for these organizations:
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Karen Fanning is a contributing writer for Scholastic News Online.
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