Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
China's Hu flies in to quake site, toll nears 1,500
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Comments (0)
Slideshow
Save
Email
Print
Reprints
Most Popular
Most Shared
Goldman CDO case could be tip of iceberg
17 Apr 2010
Europe's air travel crisis enters fourth day
2:48am EDT
Gates says U.S. lacks plan to curb Iran's nuke drive: report
17 Apr 2010
Ash cloud forces relaxed Merkel on European odyssey
17 Apr 2010
Venezuela says China offers $20 billion in financing
17 Apr 2010
UPDATE 1-Obama pushes bank reform, lashes out at Republicans
17 Apr 2010
Europe's air travel crisis enters fourth day
2:48am EDT
Goldman CDO case could be tip of iceberg
17 Apr 2010
Brighter days seen for beaten-down art market
16 Apr 2010
Ice cap thaw may awaken Icelandic volcanoes
16 Apr 2010
China's Hu flies in to quake site, toll nears 1,500
Royston Chan and Chris Buckley
YUSHU, China
Sun Apr 18, 2010 2:12am EDT
<
1 / 3
>
View Full Size
YUSHU, China (Reuters) - President Hu Jintao flew to China's remote and ruined Yushu county to speed relief distribution on Sunday, as Tibetan monks cremated victims of an earthquake in the northwest that killed nearly 1,500 people.
World | China | Natural Disasters
Hu cut short a visit to South America to fly to the disaster area. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Saturday asked Beijing if he could also visit the site to comfort victims.
The Dalai Lama has not returned to China since fleeing Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising, and is unlikely to get permission to go.
Chinese rescuers pulled a 68-year-old man from the rubble early on Sunday. He had been trapped for 100 hours, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The man's condition appeared stable, rescuers said, and he had been taken to hospital.
Hundreds of military trucks, joined by convoys organized by private aid groups, rolled across the 1,000 km (620 miles) from the provincial capital to Gyegu, the Yushu county seat where survivors are increasingly desperate for food and shelter.
Hu inspected quake damage and visited affected residents in Gyegu's Zhaxi Datong village, Xinhua said.
In Tuanjie village, outside Gyegu, relief workers distributed blankets at the local monastery but said the high altitude is limiting their ability to fly in food.
"We have never had such a big earthquake before so this is completely unexpected for us and we were not prepared," said He Zhanlu, team leader for aid distribution in the village. "To add to this, aid from all over the country is coming to us now, so traffic conditions on the road is a logistical problem."
Some non-government organizations have set up distribution centres outside Gyegu to stop looting and fights over food.
Family members brought more wrapped bodies to hundreds of chanting monks. The monks, many who came on pickup trucks from other Tibetan regions, estimate they have cremated more than 1,000 bodies on a grassy hillside outside Gyegu.
The sheer number has forced them to abandon traditional "sky burials," in which the dead are left for vultures to eat.
SCAVENGING
Residents and rescue teams picked through the wreckage of collapsed homes, looking for the dead and for bits and pieces to make life in tents or in the cold outdoors a little easier.
"Our first problem is that there aren't enough tents, and too many of the ones that are arriving are going to people with influence," said Dongzhu, an ethnic Tibetan who was scouring the remnants of his collapsed home on Saturday.
The harsh conditions on the Tibetan plateau -- Gyegu is about 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) above sea level -- mean reconstruction is urgent. Temperatures drop below freezing at night and strong winds blow constantly.
"When winter comes here, it's very, very cold and windy too," Dongzhu said. "I can't imagine what it would be like to be living in a little tent when winter comes."
Donations from other provinces have reached 225 million yuan ($32.97 million), Zuo Ming, an official at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said on Sunday.
"At the moment, the supplies that have been sent are enough to ensure people there have shelter, food and water. Of course, there are shortages, and a lot of supplies are still in transit," he told reporters.
Tibetan students in regional cities have volunteered to translate at hospitals, where patients are unable to communicate with Chinese doctors, Xinhua said.
Dongzhu's family was sleeping outdoors in their courtyard, surrounded by Buddhist statues and other recovered items.
"There's absolutely no way that the families around here could afford to pay for new homes themselves, and after this we will want quake-resistant homes," said Dongzhu, a retired local official in his sixties.
Many local families make a few thousand yuan a year from small businesses, itinerant labor or herding yaks and goats.
($1=6.825 yuan)
(Additional reporting by Melanie Lee and Jim Bai; Writing by Lucy Hornby; Editing by Paul Tait)
World
China
Natural Disasters
Add a Comment
*We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.
More from Reuters
Europe's air travel crisis enters fourth day
LONDON (Reuters) - Air travel across much of Europe was paralyzed for a fourth day on Sunday because of a huge cloud of volcanic ash, but Dutch and German test flights carried out without apparent damage seemed to offer hope.
Thai army says will "punish" protesters
Gates says U.S. lacks plan to curb Iran's nuke drive: report
China's Hu flies in to quake site, toll nears 1,500
U.S. carriers cancel most European flights
U.S. border agents shoot man at busy Mexico crossing
» More Top News
Moving back to credibility
The SEC's move on Goldman Sachs proves that it's out of the donut shop and back on the beat. It also means the pressure to succeed has never been stronger. Commentary
SEC lights fire under Goldman smoke
Financial reform passage certain
Goldman Sachs
Brighter days for art market
Prices are ticking up and records are being set again as this once-hot investment charges back into play. Full Article
Rothko, Matisse top lots at Sotheby's
Russian art draws interest
Lifestyle
© Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Analyst Research
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Labs
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts
Venture Capital Journal
International Financing Review
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Sunday, 18 April 2010 Karzai appoints new elections chief for Afghanistan
Central bankers warn against rushing to impose levy
Iran, at nuclear conference, hits out at "bullies"
EU makes test flights to assess volcanic ash
|
Europe extends flight bans as ash cloud spreads
Explosives found at suspected Greek militant hideout
|
John Paul backed praise for hiding abuse: Cardinal
|
U.N. Official Says Bird Flu Persists In Five Countries
Young China quake survivor survived by sleeping in
Afghan president appoints electoral officials
SKorean activist: NKorea kidnaps defector in China
Eight hurt in bomb blasts at Indian cricket stadium
Defence lawyers quiz witnesses in US terror case
Afghan president names new election panel chief
Pakistan: Bombers kill refugees waiting for food
Philippines clears two clan members of massacre
China needs to consider currency 'reforms': EU
Gulf youths challenge conservative norms with their cameras
Rats, cats, mildew eat at Senegal's French West Africa archives
Canadian publishes porn for the blind
World leaders cancel as Poles mass for funeral
Europe's air travel crisis enters fourth day
|
All things technical at Spain's Campus Party
Britain's 'third party' takes centre stage in election
Thai army says will punish protesters
|
China's Hu flies in to quake site, toll nears 1,500
|
Suicide bomb at police station kills 7 in Pakistan
Ecuador threatens to take over foreign oil firms
|
Massacre families to appeal over dropped charges
Geithner 'very confident' US finance reform will pass
Turkish Cypriots go to polls in crucial vote
|
Iranian policeman, sportsmen in Malaysia drug bust: police
Rival Thai 'Yellows' discuss moves as 'Reds' rally on
China's Hu flies in to quake site, toll nears 1,500
Suicide bomber kills 7 in Pakistan's northwest
|
Major economies to delve into climate impasse
Car suicide attack kills seven in NW Pakistan: police
Philippines drops charges vs 2 massacre suspects
Gates 'warns White House' over Iran nukes policy
British adventurer set for last leg of Pacific row
White supremacists, demonstrators square off in LA
Suicide bomber kills 7 in Pakistan's northwest
U.S. border agents shoot man at busy Mexico crossing
Thai army says will "punish" protesters
Asian currencies to gain from yuan revaluation: analysts
S.Korea sees $1.3 bln metal investment in 2010
Buddhist Monks Cremate China Quake Victims In Open Funeral Pyre
Panty Raiding MSU Student In Hot Water Over His Thefts of Thongs
School Paddling Makes Comeback In Texas Town
Deceased Candidate Elected Mayor In Tennessee
Surviving the apocalypse -- in comfort
Spanish woman climber moves closer to record-breaking bid
Sudan state media report Bashir poll lead
Funeral mass for Kaczynski begins in Krakow
Iran says has military might to deter attacks
iPad drawing interest as device for disabled
Polish, foreign leaders attend Kaczynski funeral
|
NATO soldier killed by bomb in south Afghanistan
Fears Italian charity will be forced out of Afghanistan
One U.S. soldier dead, three injured in Iraq crash
|
Turk Cypriots hold election, key to settlement
|
Kyrgyzstan's new rulers struggle to restore order
|
Somalia violence kills 14, parliament fails to meet
|
Pope meets abuse victims, promises justice
|
Sudan state media report Bashir poll lead
|
President Obama Observes National Volunteer Week
China's Hu tells quake rescuers to keep searching
Yang defies weather to win China Open golf
Bangkok's main shopping boulevard declared unsafe
Belarus says ousted Kyrgyz leader welcome
29 militants die in fighting in north Afghanistan
Chinese leader vows to replace collapsed schools
Chinese president Hu flies to Tibetan quake zone
Actor Daniel Wu marries girlfriend in South Africa
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights