Helping the victims of the Chinese earthquake


20 June 2008

On 12 May, Sichuan province in the south west of China was hit by the worst earthquake that the country has seen in decades. The epicentre was in Wenchuan county. It is estimated that around 90,000 people were killed or are missing, and that 10 million have lost their homes, with a further 30 million suffering dislocation of some kind. Read more here: One month on from the China earthquake.

The UK Government has provided over £2 million towards the relief effort. This includes a £1 million cash contribution to local non-governmental organisations working on the ground (through the China Association for NGO Cooperation’s emergency appeal). This money was spent on water, food, shelter and medicines, plus 2,400 locally purchased tents. An additional £1.2 million-worth of material assistance was provided in response to Chinese requests. The photos below show how the relief effort got underway.

 

DFID tents arrive at Chengdu airport A makeshift tent set up prior to the arrival of DFID aid

In addition to 2,400 tents bought locally, DFID sent over 5,000 cold weather tents and nine satellite phones. They were flown into Chengdu (90 km from the earthquake epicentre) from 22-31 May, and distributed very speedily to the affected areas.

 

DFID China visited Pan Long village, 30 km from Chengdu and 50 km from the earthquake epicentre, after DFID’s supply of tents arrived. Before that, locals had been living in very flimsy self-made accommodation for days.
   
Smiling villagers carrying tents Villagers setting up tents

The villagers of Pan Long collect the tents sent by DFID. Some 1,230 people in the village were affected by the earthquake, and not a single house, out of the 338 households in the village, survived. Luckily, the human    toll was relatively low, since most of the villagers were working in the field when disaster struck. Soldiers from the Chinese army reached the scene two hours after the disaster and helped local people to erect temporary shelters. They also distributed food and water to those most in need.

Over 5,000 tents flown from the UK were enough to shelter 30,000 people. The Chinese army and the locals worked together to erect the tents - 257 were supplied to 338 households in the village. Some families will have to share tents for a short time.
 
Woman with her baby in front of a damaged house Aid worth £2 million has been donated to China by the UK Government

A young woman in front of her destroyed house in Cifeng Town, where 80% of houses were reduced to rubble and 20,000 people have become homeless. In Beichuan county, next to the earthquake’s epicentre, possibly 80% of all buildings collapsed, including eight schools, one hospital and two chemicals factories. Officials estimate that the rebuilding work will take at least three years.

DFID is continuing to help people affected by the disaster. Through the International Labour Organisation, we have provided a further £350,000 to train local entrepreneurs in starting their own businesses. This is based on a very successful earlier cooperation with China, which saw training rolled out across 114 cities. It is expected that at least 1,000 businesses destroyed by the earthquake will be re-established in the next 12 months, and a further 700 will be set up from scratch.
   

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