China earthquake:Bodies of mother protecting child found in rubble

The poignant moment rescue workers found the bodies of a mother protecting her child beneath the rubble of an earthquake

By Wil Longbottom
Last updated at 12:54 AM on 02nd September 2008

Rescue workers looking for survivors in the rubble in China's southwest region have found the heartbreaking bodies of a woman protecting her child in a collapsed house in Lixi.

The death toll from the earthquake in the Sichuan province has hit 38, two days after the most recent in a series of tremors.

An appeal for temporary housing and tents has been launched today after the earthquake, which measured as high as 6.1 on the Richter scale, left tens of thousands homeless.
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Strong quake shakes Southern California

Strong quake shakes Southern California
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
07-29) 11:53 PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) --
A strong earthquake shook Southern California on Tuesday, and the jolt was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego, and slightly in Las Vegas.
Preliminary information from the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the quake at magnitude 5.8, centered 29 miles east-southeast of downtown Los Angeles near Chino Hills in San Bernardino County.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said there were not immediate reports of damage or injury in Los Angeles.
The quake struck at 11:42 a.m. PDT. Buildings swayed in downtown Los Angeles for several seconds. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/29/state/n114525D55.DTL
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Update from SFGate


Quake shakes S. California; No injuries reported
By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/29/state/n114525D55.DTL&tsp=1

China post quake leaves PTSD epidemic

Chinese Army Hit With PTSD Epidemic
June 18, 2008: In the wake of the relief efforts for the recent earthquakes in China, army doctors find themselves faced with thousands of soldiers exhibiting strange symptoms. These include severe fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, headaches, excessive sweating, dizziness, disturbed sleep, fainting and flashbacks to traumatic situations encountered during the weeks of working in the earthquake zone (where nearly 100,000 people died). A few of the army doctors recognized the symptoms as PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). It's been three decades since Chinese soldiers experienced combat, and there are only stories left of its after-effects. Some of the oldest NCOs and officers vaguely remember, when they first entered military service, hearing about veterans of the 1979 battles on the Vietnamese border, suffering from combat fatigue.


PTSD is not unusual for relief workers at the site of particularly horrendous disasters. The recent earthquakes in central China were the kind of disaster that only occurs every generation or two.
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http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htatrit/articles/20080618.aspx

China:Psychological assistance on track in post-disaster reconstruction

Psychological assistance on track in post-disaster reconstruction
June 10, 2008

The Wenchuan earthquake was traumatic for people living in the region. "Regulations on Wenchuan Post- Earthquake Reconstruction," which will go into effect on June 8, stipulate that people's governments at all levels in earthquake-stricken areas should organize people and enterprises to begin self-help projects; actively resume production; and provide people with psychological assistance.

Mental health teams from Guangdong distributed stress-response questionnaires in Sichuan. The results show that 48 percent of people in disaster area have suffered from psychological trauma. Mental health teams found that approximately 50% of people who received intervention therapy showed marked improvement in sleep, emotional state, cognition, and other activities. Their sleep quality improved, they had a more stable mood and they were more active and positive. However, incidents of post-traumatic stress disorder can occur within a week to up to several decades after the disaster; and long-term effects need to be monitored with regular follow-ups.
At present, large numbers of volunteers and experts engaged in psychological trauma intervention have arrived in Sichuan from across the country. The psychological assistance scheme for post-disaster reconstruction has been launched in earthquake-stricken areas.

By People's Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6427395.html

China:1,000 teenagers died in school collapse

Crying for the children, and for justice

Posted: Tuesday, May 27, 2008 11:38 AM
Filed Under: Beijing, China
By Kari Huus, msnbc.com reporter
DUJIANGYAN, China – Releasing a tidal wave of emotion and anger, hundreds of grieving parents and sympathizers gathered at a pile of rubble that was once the Juyuan Middle School on Tuesday to memorialize the nearly 1,000 teenagers who died when the building collapsed in the May 12 earthquake.

The heart-rending ceremony also offered the victims’ parents an opportunity to demand justice.

A woman clutching the portrait of her daughter, Dong Yan, cursed the people in charge of building the school, which collapsed even though all the buildings around it remained standing. Like most of the people in the crowd, she believes local corruption was the reason for the poor construction.




Ryan Pyle / msnbc.com

"We want the truth to come out and the corrupt officials to be punished," she said between sobs. "These corrupt players are the ones who have caused us so much misery."

Banners hung across the destroyed building for the occasion were more blunt: "Get even for the deaths of the Juyuan students," read one.

Another demanded harsh punishment for the "murderers" responsible for the collapsed school.

"Whoever is responsible for the building should pay with their life," said another, comparing the building materials used in the structure to tofu.

As the crowd grew, the sound of weeping became a chorus. Women sobbed, and men drew deeply on cigarettes as tears trickled down their cheeks. Mourners lit candles and incense in the wreckage.

Some women were so distraught they were carried away by family and friends. A girl recovering from head injuries stood holding a picture of her dead brother, a faraway look on her face. A hastily set up sound system broadcast a dirge. The crack of fireworks cut through the din.

Notably missing from the memorial service were any representatives of the school or the local government, who in most crises would be expected to attempt to console the mourners.
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http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/05/27/1067009.aspx