“The National Grief of China in 2008”

Reflection of Wenchuan great earthquake

Jin Chengsi （JINC29049402）

EUT1072- Sustainable Development and Management Winter 2015 Abstract

The Wenchuan earthquake is a permanent pain in Chinese hearts.China exposed many problems in dealing with this earthquake such as infrastructure ,emergency response mechanism ,building standards.Although China grows rapidly in economy ,the environment and sustainability parts don’t match it.China still falls behind in sustainable part. My paper try to figure out the problems and make suggestions for the Chinese disaster emergency mechanism.

Content Table

Ⅰ.Overview of the disaster

1.Brief introduction(when ,where ,magnitude etc)

2.Casualties (Quantity,Cause of death,Distribution etc)

3.Damages

ⅡRescue efforts and government reactions

1.Domestic

2.International

3.Evaluation of the reactions

Ⅲ.Recovery and rebuild

1.Measurements 2.process and result

Ⅳ.ReflectionⅤ.Conclusion

Introduction

May 12,is a national memorial day in China.In that day,all the website for entertainment was only in black and white color and the city defense siren was alarmed from year 2009-2012 to remind each Chinese the sorrowful earthquake-The Great Wenchuan Earthquake(also called Sichuan earthquake abroad,Wenchuan is a region of Sichuan Province).It is a “devastating mega-earthquake of magnitude 8.0”(The Wenchuan Earthquake (May 12, 2008), Sichuan Province, China, and resulting geohazards,January 2011)

The earthquake caused numerous loss.I will show them in body part.The problem is why the earthquake is able to cause such a dramatic loss in Sichuan province? The disaster reaction and preparedness systems in China are still far from complete.They exposed numerous defects in the great earthquake.The Wenchuan earthquake has gone,but a large area of China which locates at the two seismic zones in the world-the Circum-Pacific seismic zone and the Eurasian seismic belt.According to a study by Earthquake Administration of Sichuan Province ,due to the extrusion of Pacific plate,Indian plate and the Philippine sea plate,the earthquake fault zone is well-developed in China.(Study on distribution characteristics of strong earthquakes in Sichuan-Yunnan area and their geological tectonic background,Mar 2004) This graph shows the potential dangers of earthquake in China .

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Figure 1(China: natural hazard risk,Jun 2007)

China is a country which is exposed to a large possibility of earthquakes.The main research point of my paper is to analyze the consequence and reactions of the Wenchuan Great Earthquake to find out the defects of Chinese infrastructure and disaster reaction system.Finally,try to give some improvement measurements for a better reaction to earthquake in China.

The Overview of Loss Durning the Disaster

Basic information of the earthquake

Original time: 14:28, May 12, 2008

Location: Wenchuan county, Sichuan Province, China

(30 986 (30.986°N 103 364 N 103.364°E)

Magnitude: 8.0

Focal depth: 14 Km

Lasting duration: 120 sec. (China Earthquake Administration,May 2011)

Figure 2-Epicenter and aftershocks of Wenchuan earthquake(Performance Zipingpu CFRD during the strong earthquake,October 2008)

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Casualties and Loss

Official figures stated that 69,197 were confirmed dead, including 68,636 in Sichuan province, and 374,176 injured, with 18,222 listed as missing in 3 months after the earquake.(Sina News Center-汶川地震已造成69196人遇难 18379人失踪,6 July 2008)The people who were still missing after 3 months are most probably died or among the corpses which were failed to identified.The total death toll is 87587 according to USGS(National Earthquake Information Center)include 5335 school children(China releases earthquake death toll of children,7 May 2009)In addition, nearly 375,000 people were injured by falling debris and building collapses. “Hundreds of dams, including two major ones, were found to have sustained damage. Some 200 relief workers were reported to have died in mudslides in the affected area”(Sichuan earthquake of 2008 ,May 2013)

It resulted in direct damages amounting to CNY 749 billion, approximately 90% of the GDP of Sichuan province in 2007.（Sectors reconstruction simulation of Wenchuan Earthquake in China，2010）And the indirect loss is almost impossible to estimate.The earthquake also caused devastating damage to the local ecosystem.For example,according to Ecologist,the earthquake destroyed nearly a quarter of Panda habitat near quake’s epicenter.(Sichuan Earthquake Caused Significant Damage To Giant Panda Habitat,date unknown) Social loss is also unable to be expressed in numbers.Thousands of families are fragmented.Orphans,widows,disabled people...Even know,walk in the villages of Wenchuan region,we can still see the scar on people.According to a recent DFID report, the earthquake drove an estimated 10m people below the poverty line, with overall poverty in badly affected areas increasing from 11% to 35% of the population.(Lessons from the Sichuan earthquake,June 2009)And the transportation system was heavily damaged by the landslides and rock slides.More than 400 bridges were damaged in the affected area.

There is no doubt that the magnitude is to blame,but not the only factor.Figures shows the deaths from earthquakes in 2008

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Figure3

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97% deaths were from Wenchuan earthquake

1.Rescue efforts and government reactions

Domestic

After the earthquake,all sectors of society reacted immediately.But the main force is the military.The whole response to the earthquake was dominated by the Chinese government.The direct provision of aid by the Chinese military was a key element in the emergency response phase. Officials reported that, “within 14 minutes of the earthquake, the central government had dispatched the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to the affected areas, and within days 113,000 soldiers and armed police had been mobilized. Of the nine government working groups set up for the relief effort, six were supported by the military.”(The role of the state in the earthquake response,June 2009)One thing really impressive is that just 90 minutes after the earthquake, Premier Wen Jiabao,,flew to the earthquake area to conduct the rescue work,Premier Wen has an academic background in geomechanics.It was quite dangerous because of the aftershock wave.I still remembered that night,all the channels of our state-owned TV station,CCTV broadcast scenes of rescue forces.The National Disaster Relief Commission initiated a "Level II emergency contingency plan", which covers the most serious class of natural disasters. The plan rose to Level I at 22:15 CST, May 12(Ministry of Civil Affair's National Disaster Relief Committee raises the relief response to the Sichuan Earthquake to Emergency Contingency Plan Level I,May 20 2008)The highway or other transport facilities were all damaged in the hit areas.So it is a big challenge to deliver supplies.At the initial stage,supplies are dropped by helicopters or even carried by manpower. So officials recommended donating cash instead of other items.My family and I also contributed to the effort. Inside mainland China, by May 14, the Ministry of Civil Affairs stated that 10.7 billion yuan (approximately US$1.5 billion) had been donated by the Chinese public alone, including 4.185 billion yuan in the first week.(Giving in China,August 11 2008)

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International

The Chinese government invited international humanitarian assistance right after the earthquake.Few international NGOs engaged directly in emergency response, for a number of reasons.(Lessons from the Sichuan earthquake,June 2009)But we received numerous monetary aid and material aid from many countries or foreign companies. The disaster galvanized the CANGOs into soliciting numerous monetary donations and other forms of aid from across the globe, which has exceeded a collective total of $456.9 million USD in cash contributions from sources outside the country.(International reactions to 2008 Sichuan earthquake,2008)

2.Recovery and Rebuilt

The government issued several support and Reconstruction plans. A special compiling unit called “Planning Group of Post-Wenchuan Earthquake Restoration and Reconstruction of the Earthquake Relief Headquarters under the Sate Council”lead the overall program.(The Overall Planning for Post-Wenchuan Earthquake Restoration and Reconstruction ,2008)The plan covers almost all the sectors.State Council also established a counterpart support plan.

World Bank also established a particular program.Promise to spend 710 million dollars for infrastructure .The Project ID:P114107(The World Bank website)

In 2012, vice governor Wei Hong announced that the restoration and reconstruction are completed.He said:99.5 percent of the budget, or 865.8 billion yuan (137.5 billion U.S. dollars), has been invested in post-quake reconstruction efforts, and 99 percent of 29,692 related projects have been completed. Local governments have successfully helped more than 12 million people in rural and urban areas repair their houses, and have relocated 200,000 farmers who lost their farmlands(Sichuan post-quake reconstruction completed successfully,2012)

Lessons and Reflections

The problem comes again.Why the China Quake Was So Devastating?"You certainly wouldn't see the extent of damage you see here in China," said Reginald DesRoches, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Georgia Tech. "I'm 6

pretty confident about that. You just wouldn't see the level of damage, because they do really enforce the regulations, particularly in California.(Why the China Quake Was So Devastating,2008)I will talk about several typical defects that caused great damage.

1.Poor School building quality

Schools were among the worst with heavy damage.It was really ironic and painful.School construction is supposed to be highly regulated and anti-quake.This tragic fact calls for serious reconsideration of seismic design.

Figure 5Complete destruction of four buildings of the Dongqi Middle School in Hanwang Town, Mianzhu City(A preliminary report on the Great Wenchuan

Earthquake,2008)

Experts have warned that tens of millions of students in schools from Asia to the Americas face similar risks, yet programs to reinforce schools or require that new ones be built on higher standards are inconsistent, slow and inadequately financed.(School building quality to be probed,2008)

2.Poor Infrastructure

Actually,the the epicenter of this event, is one of China’s four ethnic minority counties that is predominantly settled by the Qiangzu people.Their houses are built in their traditional way with mud-brick structure and without seismic design. The current design code does not cover buildings in these ethnic regions.Other state-conducted 7

infrastructures also showed extreme vulnerability. More than 400 bridges were damaged in the affected area.Many other types of lifeline engineering structures and facilities suffered damage to different extents such as dams.

Figure 6 A totally collapsed bridge, the only access from Hongbai Town to the mountain area from the Shifang city(China Geological Survey Administration (CGSA): Preliminary Conclusions of Causes of the Great Wenchuan

Earthquake,2008)

3.Corruption

There is a series of scandal of corruption after the quake.Mainly focus on the officials involved in the construction of schools in regions affected by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.Various discussions and reports alleged that local government officials and construction companies were negligent in the construction of schools, and that they ignored civil engineering standards, saved materials and took shortcuts while pocketing the difference.(China anger over 'shoddy schools',2008)Despite initial openness to independent reporting and foreign media, the Chinese government attempted to downplay the issue and suppress criticism.Additionally, local government attempted to entice grieving parents into monetary compensation in exchange for their silence.(Police break up protest by parents of China earthquake victims,2008)As a Chinese,I know how severe the corruption is in these days,many people are engaged in a huge profit-related net.Nowadays,anti-corruption is the primary goal of Xi’s government.

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Conclusion

It is more difficult to summarize the lessons learned from the Great Wenchuan Earthquake than to just summarize loss.The government deserves praise for its quick and efficient response but it is also the government to blame for lack of attention to seismic system.There are still disbuteson whether or not the earthquake could have been predicted in advance.But we can be prepared to deal with the nature disaster with well-designed facilities and measurement.

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Reference

1.The Wenchuan Earthquake (May 12, 2008), Sichuan Province, China, and resulting geohazards,Peng Cui, Xiao-Qing Chen, Ying-Yan Zhu, Feng-Huan Su, Fang-Qiang Wei, Yong-Shun Han, Hong-Jiang Liu, Jian-Qi Zhuang,Natural Hazards ,January 2011, Volume 56, Issue 1, pp 19-36

2.Study on distribution characteristics of strong earthquakes in Sichuan-Yunnan area and their geological tectonic background,Mar,2004,HAN Wei-bin (韩渭宾) JIANG Guo-fang (蒋国芳)Earthquake Administration of Sichuan Province, Chengdu 610041, China. Retrieved from

3.Brief introduction to recovery and reconstruction of Wenchuan earthquake of Wenchuan earthquake –stricken region,He Yongnian,China Earthquake

Administration China Earthquake Administration,May 2011

4.汶川地震已造成69196人遇难 18379人失踪,6 July 2008,朱立毅 谭浩 Retrieved from

5.China releases earthquake death toll of children，Thursday 7 May 2009 20.02 BST，Tania Branigan Retrieved from

6.Sichuan earthquake of 2008 .2 May 2013,Kenneth Pletcher and John P.

Rafferty,ENYCYCLOPADIA BRITANICA

7.Sectors reconstruction simulation of Wenchuan Earthquake in China，Ning LI[ Corresponding author: State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University

8.Sichuan Earthquake Caused Significant Damage To Giant Panda Habitat

9.Lessons from the Sichuan earthquake,ISSUE 43 JUNE 2009 HUMANITARIAN 10

EXCHANGE MAGAZINE,by Brian Hoyer, independent consultant

10."Ministry of Civil Affair's National Disaster Relief Committee raises the relief response to the Sichuan Earthquake to Emergency Contingency Plan Level I" (in Chinese). Sina.com. May 12, 2008. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008

11.Giving in China,August 11 2008,Lauren Hilgers, Balkinization.

Retrieved from

12.Wikipedia-International reactions to 2008 Sichuan earthquake

13. Sichuan post-quake reconstruction completed successfully,2012 Xinhua.Fang Yang.

14.Why the China Quake Was So Devastating,Thu May 15 2008,Jeanna Bryner Senior Writer in LiveScience.com

15.School building quality to be probed,May 17 2008,Wujiao,China daily

16 The World Bank Project-Wenchuan Earthquake Recovery

17.Wang Zifa, Dong Weimin, Mortgat C and Rahnama M(2008), Earthquake Risk Modeling and Its Application in China, Proc. 5th International Conference on Urban Earthquake Engineering, Tokyo, Japan,

18. "China anger over 'shoddy schools' ", BBC News Online, May 15, 2008

19. Police break up protest by parents of China earthquake victims, The Guardian, June 3, 2008

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20.School quake scandal: Bereaved parents accuse China government of allowing shoddy construction, Toronto Sun, June 5, 2008

Graphs and Figures Source

1.CHINA: Natural Hazard Risks,29 June 2007,OCHA Regional Office for Asia Pacific Retrieved from

2.Performance of Zipingpu CFRD during the strong earthquake,Oct 20,2008,Xu Zeping,China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research

Retrived from

3.Deaths from Earthquakes in 2008- from 2008 Significant Earthquakes of the World

4, 5A preliminary report on the Great Wenchuan Earthquake,Earthq Eng & Eng Vib (2008) 7:225-234

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Appendix(extra graphs and data)

Progressive report of casualties as of May 28, 2008

The Overall Planning for Post-Wenchuan Earthquake Restoration and

Reconstruction can be found in the following link.It is in English and really interesting to read -http://eird.org/cd/recovery-planning/docs/2-planning-process-scenario/The-Overall-Planning%20for-Post-Wenchuan-Earthquake-Restoration-and-construction.pdf

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