156 Dead As Earthquake Hits China’s Sichuan Province

156 people have been killed and 5,000 others were left injured by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked a hilly area of Sichuan province, southwest of China on Saturday morning. It's been five years since an earthquake has laid waste to the hilly Lushan county, but the quake of 2008 was more destructive, leaving about 87,000 people either dead or missing in May.


The earthquake struck at 8:02 am Beijing time and the epicenter was located just eight miles deep in Ya’an county, home to about 1.5 million people. Panicked residents ran down apartment stairs, rushing into the street, where many remained overnight, in fear for their lives.

Many flights were either cancelled or delayed at Chengdu's airport, while many scheduled train rides were stopped at the railway station, according to media reports. It was also mentioned that the famous Bifengxia panda reserve, near Lushan, was unaffected by the quake. Recall that these pandas were moved from their previous habitat in the 2008 earthequke disaster which remains the worst disaster ever to be seen in decades of Chinese history.

With the forecast reports from the China Meteorological Administration issuing warnings of more rainfalls, possible landslides and other disasters, thousands of people have taken refuge in either cars or tents, too afraid to go back to the unstable region.

 While Li Keqiang, the Chinese Premier, rushed to the scene to coordinate rescue efforts, rescuers turned the space outside Lushan County Hospital to a triage center for medical personnel to treat victims of the disaster.

Most of the area was still in disarray, with tens of thousands sleeping outside and low supply of bottled water, even when it was reported by Xinhua News Agency that the Ministry of Civil Affairs had dispatched 30,000 tents, 50,000 cotton blankets and 10,000 makeshift beds to the area.

According to Gao Hengchun, 49, a self-employed driver from Liberation Village in Tianquan county, he saw rocks rolling down the mountainside and tiles tumbling from rooftops when the quake struck. At that time, he was heading to his nephew’s wedding. His nephew got injured from falling down the stairs when the earthquake took place, injuring his ankles. Luckily no one among over 100 people at the venue got hurt, besides his cousin.

We know that nothing can close the wounds of the families who have lost someone in the province, but we hope the nation can stand together to deal with the aftermath of the disaster