China Quake Zone Jolted by Strong Aftershock

Audra Ang in Beichuan, China
Associated Press

May 16, 2008

A strong aftershock sparked landslides Friday near the epicenter of this week's powerful earthquake, while some survivors were pulled from rubble after being buried for four days.

Helicopters dropped leaflets urging people to "unite together" and providing survival tips.

The first foreign rescue workers since Monday's magnitude 7.9 temblor were allowed to enter the country: The first time ever that China accepted outside professionals for domestic disaster relief, Foreign Ministry counselor Li Wenliang told the official Xinhua News Agency.

Officials have said the quake's final toll could reach 50,000. (See photos of the earthquake's destruction.)

A day past what experts call the critical three-day window for finding survivors, rescuers pulled a nurse to safety who had been trapped for 96 hours in the debris of a clinic in Beichuan county, one of 17 people saved there, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Survivors also were being found elsewhere, with a man pulled from the wreckage of a fertilizer plant near Shifang city.

An aftershock rattled parts of central Sichuan Province Friday afternoon, Xinhua said, citing its reporters at the scene. A number of vehicles were buried on a road leading to the epicenter, and casualties were unknown.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the latest tremor measured magnitude 5.5, one of the strongest among dozens that have shaken the area.

Heavy Child Casualties

Education and housing officials, meanwhile, took the rare move of fielding questions online from angry Chinese citizens over the many children who died in the quake. The official child death toll had risen to about 22,069 on Friday, and another 14,000 still were buried in Sichuan.

The government said it would investigate why so many school buildings collapsed in the quake—destroying about 6,900 classrooms, not including the hardest-hit counties—and severely punish anyone responsible for shoddy construction. (Watch video taken during the quake.)

More than 4 million apartments and homes had been damaged or destroyed in Sichuan Province, according to Housing Minister Jiang Weixin. Jiang said the water supply situation was "extremely serious" in Sichuan, and not flowing at all in 20 cities and counties.

Dozens of people trudged up a winding mountain road to Beichuan, carrying backpacks and bags with food and medical supplies, on a quest for missing relatives.

Liu Jingyong, a 43-year-old migrant worker searching for his cousin, traveled two days by bus and now foot just to get near his relative's home.

"I have not had any information from him," Liu said. "This is so hard on me."

Severe Challenge

President Hu Jintao made his first trip to the disaster zone, rallying troops among the massive relief operation of some 130,000 soldiers and police.

"The challenge is still severe, the task is still arduous and the time is pressing," Hu was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

"Quake relief work has entered into the most crucial phase. We must make every effort, race against time and overcome all difficulties to achieve the final victory of the relief efforts."

The government said it had allocated a total of U.S. $772 million for earthquake relief, according to the central bank's Web site, up sharply from U.S. $159 million two days ago.

China also has received U.S. $457 million in donated money and goods for rescue efforts, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, including U.S. $83 million from 19 countries and four international organizations.

Given the widespread destruction, AIR Worldwide—a catastrophe-risk modeling firm—estimated losses to both insured and uninsured property would likely exceed $20 billion.

———

Associated Press writers Tini Tran in Hanwang and Anita Chang in Beijing contributed to this report.