Sichuan earthquake
March 3, 2011
The 2008 Sichuan earthquake or the Great Sichuan Earthquake was a deadly
earthquake that measured at 8.0Ms sand 7.9 Mw occurred at 14:28:01.42 CST (02:28:01.42 EDT)on May 12, 2008 in Sichuan province of China and killed at least 68,000 people.It is also known as the Wenchuan earthquake after the location of the earthquake’s epicenter, Wenchuan County in Sichuan province.
The epicenter was 80 kilometres west-northwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, with a focal depth of 19 kilometres (12 mi).The earthquake was also felt in nearby countries and as far away as both Beijing and Shanghai—1,500 kilometres (932 mi) and 1,700 kilometres (1,056 mi) away—where office buildings swayed with the tremor.Official figures (as of July 21, 2008 12:00 CST) state that 69,197 are confirmed dead, including 68,636 in Sichuan province, and 374,176 injured, with 18,222 listed as missing.The earthquake left about 4.8 million people homeless,though the number could be as high as 11 million.Approximately 15 million people lived in the affected area.
It was the deadliest earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which killed at least 240,000 people, and the strongest since the 1950 Chayu earthquake in the country, which registered at 8.5 on Richter magnitude scale.It is the 21st deadliest earthquake of all time.Strong aftershocks, some exceeding magnitude 6, continued to hit the area even months after the main quake, causing new casualties and damage.
On November 6, 2008, the central government announced that it will spend 1 trillion yuan (about $146.5 billion) over the next three years to rebuild areas ravaged by the earthquake.(See also, China economic stimulus program.)Because of the magnitude of the quake, and the media attention on China, foreign nations and organizations immediately responded to the disaster by offering condolences and assistance. On May 14, UNICEF reported that China formally requested the support of the international community to respond to the needs of affected families.By May 14, the Ministry of Civil Affairs stated that 10.7 billion yuan (approximately US$1.5 billion) had been donated by the Chinese public. Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, one of the country’s most popular sports icons, gave $214,000 and $71,000 to the Red Cross Society of China. The association has also collected a total of $26 million in donations so far. Other multinational firms located in China have also announced large amounts of donations.
The Red Cross Society of China flew 557 tents and 2,500 quilts valued at 788,000 yuan (US$113,000) to Wenchuan County. The Amity Foundation already began relief work in the region and has earmarked US$143,000 for disaster relief.The Sichuan Ministry of Civil Affairs said that they have provided 30,000 tents for those left homeless.On May 15, United Daily News reported that the top ten richest people in mainland China had donated a little over 32.5 million yuan (US$4.6 million) altogether as of May 13, drawing accusations of selfishness and callousness from Chinese internet users.Following the earthquake, donations were made by people from all over mainland China, with booths set up in schools, at banks, and around gas stations. People also donated blood, resulting in according to Xinhua long line-ups in most major Chinese cities.Many donated through text messaging on mobile phones to accounts set up by China Unicom and China Mobile By May 16, the Chinese government had allocated a total of $772 million for earthquake relief so far, up sharply from $159 million from May 14.On May 16 China stated it had also received $457 million in donated money and goods for rescue efforts so far, including $83 million from 19 countries and four international organizations.Saudi Arabia was the largest aid donor to China, providing close to 40,000,000 in financial assistance, and an additional 8,000,000 worth of relief materials.
Red Cross Helps Haitians Move From Camps Back to Their Communities
February 28, 2011
Delmas, Haiti (February 25, 2011) – Sitting outside her new home in the blinding Caribbean sun, Ann Rosina Dorelus is counting her blessings.
Just over a year ago, she lost both her home and job because the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti. The home collapsed, and the job – she was working as a housekeeper for a wealthy family – disappeared when her employers’ house was badly damaged and the family left Haiti to live abroad.
With nowhere else to go, Ann Rosina – who is 51 – and her 23-year-old daughter were forced to live for months under a tarp in a makeshift camp called Camp des Sages, in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Delmas. “It was difficult, we had no money,” recalls Ann Rosina. “It was very stressful. I kept thinking about how we would leave the camp.”
Now, thanks to a program funded by the American Red Cross, Ann Rosina and her daughter have recently moved into a new transitional home nestled on a hillside in their former neighborhood. As part of an initiative to return earthquake victims from “camps to communities” the American Red Cross is funding the construction of hundreds of transitional homes in Delmas 75. 
These Red Cross-funded one-room homes – with wooden walls, metal roofs capable of withstanding Category 1 winds, two doors and two windows that lock — are being built in partnerships with UNOPS and Haven.
New homeowners like Ann Rosina sound elated to be here. “I like this a lot,” she says, sitting outside her front door next to a bed of bright purple flowers. “We got more than we thought we would get.”
Across a narrow alleyway, Francine Alcimeus is in the process of officially receiving her transitional home. She signs with a wobbly “X” after hearing a summary of the information on a sheet of paper conveying this house to her. A 35-year-old mother of six children, ages 18 to 3, Francine has already arranged the small home with care. There is a neatly made double bed, a corner for the television set and radio, another corner with a dish rack, and a set of four plastic chairs arranged in a circle around a low table. One of the chairs has a worn teddy bear sitting on it.
There is no doubt this is a tiny space for a family of eight – they would have been nine, but Francine recently lost a baby at birth – still it is cleaner, drier and roomier than the tarp they have called home for much of the past year. Her children seem excited. When 10-year-old Francoise is asked about her favorite thing in the home, she says “all of it.”
The American Red Cross is funding the construction of 6,500 transitional homes in Haiti. Nearly half of these – 3,100 – are being built in the greater Port-au-Prince area. Delays in clearing rubble and confusion around land tenure have significantly slowed construction of homes for many organizations, but the Red Cross global network expects to help a total of 30,000 families transition to safer, more secure shelters.
With about 800,000 people (down from perhaps 1.5 million after the quake) still living in camps around Port-au-Prince, there is overwhelming demand for homes. This program in Delmas 75 involves identifying pieces of land where houses were labeled ‘red’ by local inspectors, meaning they were unsafe to live in. Once former residents of these sites were identified, they were offered the opportunity to receive a new Red Cross-funded home on the same plot of land, assuming they could prove they had a legal right to be there. As part of the overall plan, additional community services, from installation of latrines and showers to hygiene promotion activities, will also be offered to area residents.