Rescue workers in Qingyan village in southwestern China’s Sichuan province search Monday through the rubble of a building that collapsed during Saturday’s earthquake. The Associated Press
LUSHAN, China – The tent village that sprang up in two days to house quake survivors in mountain-flanked Lushan is no ordinary refugee camp. China’s full range of disaster response is on display: trucks with X-ray equipment, phone-charging stations, bank tellers-on-wheels – even a tent for insurance claims.
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The efforts under way in mountainous Sichuan province after a quake Saturday that killed at least 192 people showed that the government has continued to hone its disaster reaction – long considered a crucial leadership test in China – since a much more devastating earthquake in 2008, also in Sichuan, and another one in 2010 in the western region of Yushu.
“Lushan was so heavily hit and my family’s house toppled. It has been such a disaster for us,” said Yue Hejun, 28, as he waited to recharge his family’s three mobile phones at a charging stall, volunteered by a communications company and coordinated by the government in a new addition to the arsenal of services after natural disasters. “If we can charge our phones, we are at least able to keep in touch with our family members outside and that helps to set our minds at ease.”
At a mini-clinic with two green cots in the open air and a small tent for doctors to sleep, a doctor said Monday the government has learned the importance of fast coordination since the Yushu quake, which killed more than 2,600 people. Much of the initial relief in that disaster came from Buddhist monks and other non-government volunteers, partly because of the remoteness of much of the affected areas.
Still, complaints were common among the survivors of the latest quake, especially in the more hard-to-reach areas. While aid was being delivered, it was not getting out to all who need it. Yue said family members in his remote mountain village had received no help with shelter.
Huang Mingxian, 47, who was camped out with seven family members in a government-issued tent , said the government’s efforts were appreciated but that supplies were not distributed fairly.
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