April 14, 2010

Yushu Earthquake

yushu-before-earthquake.jpg

A huge earthquake struck Yushu province yesterday. It's a remote and beautiful part of the world and conditions there are tough in the best of times. High passes, bad roads, and poor communication are the norm. In my trips there through the region I've made many friends. All must be suffering now.

My guess is that the true scale of this calamity will never be known and the reports of the dead will be wildly underestimated.

An account of my first trip to Jiegu in 1999 (Jiegu is the Tibetan name, Yushu is the official Chinese name): Xining-Garze

News links: NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Google Quake News, Seismic Monitor

Update: Firsthand report of the quake.

Update: The Boston Globe put together a devastating set photographs from the Yushu as in the aftermath of the quake. A story in the NYTimes about post-quake tensions in the area.

posted at 08:06 AM by raul

Filed under: this moment

TAGS: earthquake (2) qinhai (1) yushu (1)

Comments:

04/14/10 09:13 PM

When i first heard about the earthquake i thought about the how many new orphans are now mourning their parents and how many parents are now mourning their children... I also thought, I know excately where that is and an image of snow covered mountains I once glimpsed many years ago...and so far in the last year, it's 2 out of 4....! It's getting too close for comfort...!

04/15/10 04:31 AM

Earthquake relief is being organized through this website: http://yushuearthquakerelief.com/ .

04/17/10 07:48 PM

It is a very sad time for Yushu. My family and I were living there when the quake happened. Please read through this post for more details on the quake and for info on how to help:

http://kekexili.typepad.com/life_on_the_tibetan_plate/2010/04/yushu-earthquake.html

04/18/10 12:01 AM

Death toll is rising, but there are miraculous stories of people being rescued.

Our report from the earthquake zone:

http://kekexili.typepad.com/life_on_the_tibetan_plate/2010/04/yushu-earthquake.html

04/24/10 08:52 AM

God bless China!

China Art Mall
Web: http://www.86tra-art.com/
E_mail: tra.artmall@yahoo.com
MSN: china_artmall@hotmail.com

04/24/10 08:53 AM

God bless China!

China Art Mall
Web: http://www.86tra-art.com/
E_mail: tra.artmall@yahoo.com
MSN: china_artmall@hotmail.com

05/21/10 12:43 PM

Tragic beyond words! I've visited Yushu on 3 separate occasions in the past few years. Can't believe the suffering visited on that unique place. Photos from before the earthquake at

http://www.martinnewmanphotography.com/Photography/Kham-Pictures/Tribute-to-the-People-of/12234634_ZDPYo#871849242_o7mrm

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