42,000 dead or missing in Chinese earthquake
Nico Hines & Jane Macartney; 15/5/08
The Chinese Government rushed 2,000 troops to a dam above the devastated town of Dujiangyan, in Sichuan province, today in an emergency attempt to plug cracks caused by the earthquake. If the Zipingpu Dam were to collapse, torrents of water would surge downriver into some of the areas where more than 42,000 people are reported dead or missing. Rescuers finally reached some the worst hit of those areas in the Sichuan province today. The official death toll now stands at 14,866, but while the army and emergency workers battle to reach isolated areas and scour mile after mile of rubble, the scale of the disaster continues to rise.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23702600-25837,00.html
‘Save me’: girl freed after 50 hours under rubble
Zhang Yufei, & Rowan Callick; 16/5/08; http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23705081-25837,00.html
Children try to make sense of disaster
John Garnaut & Maya Li Mianyang;16/5/08
“My name is here,” said Li Chunchun, lifting her shirt and pointing to her tummy. A nurse at Mianyang Central Hospital said the policeman who found five-year-old Li had written her name there so she wouldn’t get lost. Little Li said she had been walking with Grandma back to school after lunch, singing the song the class was planning to sing that afternoon. “Xiao yu sha sha sha, Zhongzi sha sha sha, quntian yao lai li (The sound of drizzling rain, the sound of seeds growing, spring is coming).” Li prattled away: “A rock this big (stretching her arms) smashed Grandma in the eyes and nose. There was lots of blood. I called Grandma but she didn’t say anything.”
See: http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/children-try-to-make-sense-of-disaster/2008/05/15/1210765056655.html
Tags: Children, China, Death Toll, Environment