05.12.08

China’s Earthquake

Posted in Media/Internet, The Second Tier, The Wenchuan Earthquake at 17:22 by SHTig

It’s now 5:30pm in China.  The 7.8 earthquake with an epicenter in Wenchuan, Sichuan province that struck at 2:28pm is being reported on local TV and the internet.  While State media is reporting that Premier Wen Jiabao is headed to the area and that emergency aid is being sent, and that Hu Jintao has said the injured must be helped immediately.  However there have been no reports of injuries or deaths.  Television reporters on CCTV9, the Chinese language news channel, have not even mentioned the possibility of casualties.  They are currently doing interviews with reporters around the country, but have not been able to reach any reporters near the area of Wenchuan.

My friend in Shanghai from Shaanxi Province (which borders Sichuan) called a friend in Shaanxi.  The friend said that students in Shaanxi have been hospitalized due to falling debris in their school.  My friend in Shanghai from Sichuan has been calling Sichuan but the lines are dead.  Meanwhile, the only images being broadcast are from nearby Chengdu show people mostly confused, but not harmed, and a broken water pipe.  I hope that is because that’s all there is, but I have a bad feeling there are serious casualties and the media just isn’t reporting it yet.

All is fine in Shanghai.  They say the earthquake was felt in the Jing’an district of Shanghai, where I am, but I didn’t feel it.  A colleague down the hall did however, and left the building as a precaution 10 minutes before the building was officially evacuated.

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