Just to share some stories and background of what happened to some who are still clueless what happened.
An earthquake magnitude of 8.0 struck Sichuan province of China on May 12, 2008. The earthquake released more energy than 500 atomic bombs, 30 times more than the Kobe earthquake in Japan, 1995. By May 19, more than 32,000 confirmed dead and more than 20,000 still missing and more than 4.7 million houses collapsed or heavily damaged.
Millions of people lost their homes..devastated
Lost their belongings, lost their familes....yet there was no complaint...just everyone helping each other...
Within hours of the disaster, help came...
Chen Guangbiao, owner of a big construction company started transporting 60 construction machineries and led 120 volunteer to rescue. They arrived at the disaster area 24 hours later, almost the same time as Army Engineering Corp.
Traffic jam not by people who is fleeing the after shocks but by volunteers, led by 1000 taxi drivers came from Chengdu to rescue.
People started to donate blood to help those injured, within 24 hours the blood bank ran out of places for storage.
Medical Help
Wen Jia Bao, 66, Chinese Prime Minister, boarded a plane 30 minutes after the earthquake, and arrived in disaster area in 2 hours. He has been the chief of the rescue operation since then working around the clock at the frontline with rescue workers.
the action of a country's leader warmth the heart of many
It was reported that he pointed at a child trapped in the rubble and told him.."Don't be scare, ye ye(grandpa) is coming to get you out!"
Military help came...11,000 para troopers start boarding planes 2 hours after earthquake.
Despite heavy rain, high wind thick clouds...they jump from 20,000 foot to remote mountain which they do not even know if there will be a place for them to land.
Soldiers walked through mountain areas due to damaged roads carrying relief with them to the epicenter of the earthquake.
With rescue workers working round the clocks to try to save as many as possible.
This man by the name Xu Chao, 60, was a homeless vagrant, he saw the news and went to donate 5 yuan in the morning. He said people in the disaster area were worse off than him because their lives were threatened. He came back in the afternoon, donated another 100 Yuan. He explained that all he had were pennies and dimes, and he didnt want to waste volunteer workers' time to count them, so he went to the bank to have it change into one big bill.
Song Xin ying, 3, pulled out from rubbleafter buried for 2 days. She was in critical condition and lost a leg but survived. her parents hold each other's hands and shoulders face to face to make an arch to shield her from the falling building. Both died.
A 5 year old boy was rescued after being buried for 24 hours. His left hand was broken, but he smiled and saluted to his rescuers. His smile made everybody cry.
Yuan Wentin, 26, first grade teacher. When earthquake struck, she rushed to carry her stunned students from classroom on the 3rd floor to the ground. She managed to pull out most of her students, but the building collapsed when she was trying to pull out the last few. At the last moment, she even use her body to shield the students from falling concrete. Many teachers did the same as well.
This baby survived after buried over 24 hours, miraculously. He is about 3 months old and his mother kneeled down pinned her head and hands on the ground to shielded him from the falling concrete, and milked him. His mother did not make it out. A rescue worker found his mum's cell phone in his wrapper. It texted message left by his mother: "Dear Child, if you survive, please remember, Mom loves you forever...."
Rescuers exhausted after working round the clocks searching for survivors.
Tiananmen
A man applauds at the half mast as thousands gather at Tian'anmen Square for 3 mintues of silence to show respect to the ten thousands of people killed. The China State Council ordered a 3 day national mourning, the first time ever for common people.
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