OCHA Situation Report No. 9
China: Earthquake
28 May 2008


Source:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

NOTE: This report is based on information received from the office of the 
United Nations Resident Coordinator, the media, as well as other partners.

Key Summary

- More than 3.3 million tents are urgently needed and have been requested 
by the Government of China to the international community.

- Tent Requirements/Sizes: 30 sq. m (6x5 m), 16 m sq.m (4x4m) or 15 sq.m 
(5x3m)

  (Footnote: it is not necessary that the tents be winterized.)

- Donors are encouraged to report their contributions, including in-kind 
contributions, to OCHA's Financial Tracking System (FTS), 
http://ocha.unog.ch/fts2/.

Situation

1. On 12 May 2008 a major earthquake measuring 8.0 (original 7.9 RS was 
raised to 8.0 by Chinese authorities) on the Richter scale struck Wenchuan 
County, Aba Prefecture some 92km northwest of Chengdu City, the capital of 
Sichuan Province. The earthquake took place at 14.48 Beijing-time and 
tremors were felt as far as Wuhan, Shanghai and Beijing.

2. Two aftershocks of 5.4 and 5.7 respectively hit Qingchuang County 
(Sichuan Province) and Ninqiang County (Shaanxi Province) on 27 May 
according to the China National Seismological Network. The aftershocks 
caused an additional 420,000 houses to collapse as well as bringing down 
more rubble from the mountains. As of 26 May, 182 aftershocks measuring 4 
or higher on the Richter scale have been recorded.

3. According to official statistics from the Information Office of the 
State Council, the death toll is 67,183 people, with an additional 361,822 
people injured and 20,790 people missing. More than 45.61 million people 
were affected and around 15 million people have been relocated. A total of 
64,719 bodies have been buried in Sichuan Province alone. Soldiers and 
medical personnel have rescued 83,988 people from debris. Around 5.46 
million homes have been destroyed; an additional 5.9 million homes are 
seriously damaged.

Environmental Situation

4. The Government of China reported that earthquakes have damaged 2,380 
dams across the region, including 1,803 dams in Sichuan province alone. Of 
these, the Government reports that 69 are at risk of rupturing, including 
the Zipingpu Dam, upriver from Dujiangyan in Sichuan province.

5. The Government of China has estimated that 700,000 people are 
threatened by the possible rupture of earthquake/landslide-caused lakes. 
To alleviate threats, local water authorities are taking emergency 
measures including satellite and on-site monitoring and investigation; 
relocation of populations from low-lying at-risk areas; and the dredging 
of lakes. The Government reported that priority attention is focused on a 
quake lake in Tangjiashan, Beichuan County, which is blocking the Jianhe 
River and, with more than 128 million cubic meters of water behind it, 
believed to pose the greatest risk to human welfare.

6. The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) reported that water 
quality at 71 sites in 48 affected cities and counties in Sichuan, 
Shaanxi, and Gansu Provinces, including Chongqing Municipality met the 
national standard. The air quality in the ten most affected cities and 
counties was also reported as normal.

7. MEP reported that necessary measures had been taken to mitigate any 
possible harmful effects of four industrial chemical leakages thus far 
identified (Shifang Municipality, Qingchuan County, and Mianzhu city). 
Meanwhile, MEP and local counterparts reported continued examination of 
all chemical industry operations to identify potential secondary 
environmental risks.

8.  Nuclear facilities and radioactive sources have been confirmed safe 
and under control, according to MEP. A total of 50 radioactive sources 
with potential environmental risks have been identified. Of those, 35 have 
been recovered and stored by local environmental authorities. The 
remaining 15 radioactive sources either remain buried in debris or are 
located in buildings with a high risk of collapse and difficult to reach.

Needs

9. The Government of China is accepting international medical teams and is 
requesting supplies and medical equipment from the international community 
(please refer to OCHA Situation Report #6 for a detailed list). All 
medicines, medical equipment and disinfection products, procured either in 
China or abroad, should be officially registered in China or other 
countries; detailed information on registration and accreditation 
requirements will be provided by the Disaster Relief Headquarters of the 
People's Government of Sichuan Province.

10. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health priorities 
are the following: 1) treating the injured; 2) communicable disease 
surveillance and control; 3) ensuring safe water and food supply; 4) 
immediate and long-term mental health and psychosocial support; 5) 
reconstruction of the health care system in affected-areas.

Attachments: 
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/retrieveattachments?openagent&docid=0B34BE21DF8A3A6A492574570002E5C3&file=Full_Report.pdf

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