DISASTER RESPONSE

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2008 CHINA - Chengdu and Other Affected Regions
Earthquake Disaster Aid
CRY is now collecting towards the recent disaster in Sichuan province, China where a powerful earthquake toppled buildings, schools and chemical plants in central China, killing more than 51,000 people and trapping untold numbers (30,000 people missing, 300,000 injured at 22/05/08) in mounds of concrete, steel and earth in the country's worst quake in three decades.

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The 7.9-magnitude quake devastated a region of small cities and towns set amid steep hills north of Sichuan's provincial capital of Chengdu. Striking in mid afternoon, it emptied office buildings across the country in Beijing and could be felt as far away as Vietnam. The disaster has also left some 5m people homeless, with many still sheltering in the open under makeshift tarpaulins more than 10 days after.

In 1994, a significant CRY grant enabled the refurbishment of 3 orphanages in Mudanjiang; Chengdu and Quinhe so we still have excellent local contacts in the region who are now involved in the relief effort. The good news is that all the children in the Chengdu orphanage are OK and the building not damaged!

100% of all funds raised will go directly to emergency relief and aid work in Chengdu through our Christian partners CfC.

PLEASE make sure you read their first REPORT and view the pictures to get a better idea of the size of the problem.

One in particular, a local Primary and Secondary school of some 3000 children; also a local hospital which was forced to use tents to deal with in-patient, outpatient and maternity cases, etc. Many of the Secondary school students from this one school were transferred to other schools as a short term solution, but this was not possible with the Primary school. The Rwandan Government had no money available to help.

This disaster was brought to CRY's attention by local doctor, Martin Hughes who was visiting a school in Rwanda - during which time after tremors were still being felt. CRY managed to obtain a £12,000 grant which will provide additional Emergency Shelter Provision for Homes, Medical Clinics & Temporary Classrooms; Transport of Aid to Remote Areas (Tents are supplied from Uganda where they are collected and taken to the relief area – a 3 day round trip); also Blankets, Sheets and Nets.

Following the earthquake and tsunami disaster, CRY provided financial help and acted as a channel of support to its Christian representatives in Sri Lanka who distributed food, medicines and other emergency supplies directly to areas which were not being reached or prioritised by the main agencies. These supplies were put directly into the hands of those suffering most.

With a magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3, it is the second largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph. This earthquake had the longest duration of faulting ever observed, between 8.3 and 10 minutes. It caused the entire planet to vibrate as much as 1 cm (0.5 inches) and triggered other earthquakes as far away as Alaska.

The plight of the many affected people and countries prompted a widespread humanitarian response. In all, the worldwide community donated more than $7 billion USD in humanitarian aid.