Day 11 May 22 2008, Thursday

MORE THAN 50,000 PEOPLE ARE CONFIRMED DEAD IN THE SICHUAN EARTHQUAKE

Death toll: 55, 239
Injury toll: 281,066
Missing toll: 24,949
Number of houses destroyed: 11.394 million
Stranded: More than 5 million

Desperation drive quake survivors to hijack relief supplies

An increasingly dire need for supplies have caused some quake survivors to hold up aid workers bringing in supplies to the affected regions.

The Chinese military has been bringing in food since it managed to clear the roads but demand is outstripping supply. Aid workers were temporarily prevented from using the reopened roads after inexperience on the part of some ended up impeding the flow of traffic. Access has now been restored.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has returned to Sichuan to oversee relief efforts and visit the survivors. Wen had arrived in the province the very night of the quake and his tireless inspection of the various areas hit by the disaster in the days that followed has won him the respect of many Chinese, who have expressed their admiration on the net, blogs and media.

Speaking at a village, he said,

"我知道，许多家庭失去了亲人，这个悲痛是巨大的。但是我们要化悲痛为力量，重新把家乡建设好，建设一个新的北川，这也是对逝去亲人最好的慰藉。”

“活着的人要加倍努力，更好地工作。我相信大家能做到：忍住心中的哀痛，振作起精神来"

" I know, many families lost loved ones, this agony is enormous. But we must turn the agony into strength, rebuild the homes and rebuild a new Beichuan (the area hit by the quake), this is the best consolation for family who have passed on.

"Those living must work harder, work better. I believe we can all do it: bear the pain in our hearts, and revive our spirits."

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs has published a statement of the donations consolidated for the victims of the Sichuan quake on its official website. According to official figures, as of 12 noon today, it had received 50.239 million donations to its account and 1.38 billion yuan (US$190 million)

A 38-year-old woman Cui Changhui survives after 216 hours. Colleagues had initially been tried to pull her out from the rubble but when more buildings collapsed around her, they could not reach her.

Since then she has been living on worms and grass and drinking her own urine. An old man found her and had been bringing her water. However he was too weak to carry her out and had to wait till she was discovered by a helicopter rescue team.

When she was asked what made her persevere, she said,

" I wanted to survive. I knew they would come for me. I have family, I must live on"

34 lakes have been formed by rivers dammed by landslides triggered by the quake and aftershocks. Experts say eight of the larger ones may be susceptible to collapse into surrounding areas, and survivors are being evacuated. Sichuan is home to the 735 km-long Min Jiang, a tributary that flows through the mountainous northern to central region of the province into the Yangzi River.

ＶIDEO OF THE DAY

One of the three pandas unaccounted for in the affected Wolong Panda Reserve has been located.

This video is of a news report on the status of the pandas after the quake. Sichuan is home to China's panda breeding programme.




Immediately after the quake struck, workers rounded up the pandas in the reserve and placed into cages with the intention of evacuating them to safety. Most of them were fine, apart from being brown with dust. Ｔhe workers tried driving out to find help but to no avail. Ａlmost 20 pandas were kept in a wooden hut for a fitful first night's rest.

The next day they were fed milk and treated for injuries. Eight of them will be sent to Beijing. As of now, over 40 pandas are being taken care of at a research centre in the provincial capital Chengdu.