Earthquake in Sichuan province: Latest on the situation in China
28 May 2008
Headlines
DFID backs UK medical team to help in China earthquake zone
 Image courtesy of Qilai Shen/Panos Pictures
A
seven-person UK medical team backed by DFID arrived in Chengdu on 24 May to help survivors of the Sichuan
earthquake. RedR specialises in providing personnel for disaster response
operations and is funded with £500,000 per year by DFID .
The team is led by Professor Dr Tony Redmond of Manchester University and
includes disaster medical specialists in areas including reconstructive surgery,
orthopaedic surgery, nursing, public health and emergency medicine.
The team of RedR volunteers are travelling courtesy of Virgin and are being
hosted by the Sichuan authorities and Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Foreign Office
and Chinese Embassy in London co-operated to secure the team's arrangements,
with DFID's support.
UK’s response
 Prime
Minister Gordon Brown has announced that the British Government is providing £2
million worth of assistance towards the relief effort for the earthquake in
China. There will be a £1 million contribution to the China Association for NGO
Cooperation’s (CANGO) emergency appeal and £1 million worth of material
assistance in response to Chinese requests.
Five thousand tents will be flown out (enough to shelter 30,000 people) and the
UK is responding to Chinese requests for communications equipment and technical
support. The first three consignments of tents arrived safely in Chengdu on 22
and 24 May. Of these, 2,424 were deployed to Guanyang city, and 1,148 to
Mianyang city, where the RedR medical team operates.
DFID China is looking at the future of its development programmes in affected
area and disaster reduction.
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In brief
- As of 28 May, a Chinese government spokesman says the death toll in
the earthquake more than two weeks ago has risen to 68,109.
- The toll given by Cabinet spokesman Guo Weimin on Tuesday was up
about 1,000 from a day earlier.
- Premier Wen Jiabao has already said he expects the death toll to
eventually surpass 80,000 from the May 12 earthquake.
- The UK Government is giving £1 million for the relief effort to
local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working on the ground.
- The UK is also supplying 5,500 tents (providing shelter for 30,000
people) and telecommunications equipment worth another £1
million.
- The International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies launched an appeal on 15 May.
- The international response continues to be strong. Donations have
now topped US$1 billion. The European Commission has now committed 2
million euros, and deployed a team to Chengdu on 18 May.
- A large aftershock on 17 May caused further damage.
- Flooding remains a serious risk.
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What happened?
 An earthquake of 8.0 on the Richter scale hit Sichuan province in south west
China at 14:45 local time on 12 May. It is China’s worst earthquake since 1976.
The affected area is the size of Belgium.
- The epicentre was in Wenchuan county.
- In Beichuan county next to Wenchuan, 900 children were buried in one
school which collapsed. Possibly 80% of all buildings collapsed,
including seven other schools, one hospital and two chemical factories.
- Figures indicate that approximately 4 million homes have
been destroyed or badly damaged in Sichuan and seven other affected
provinces.
- Chinese officials say one of the towns worst affected by the
earthquake - Beichuan - will be rebuilt on a completely new site.
- The death toll from the May 12 earthquake is expected to surpass
80,000.
- Aftershocks are continuing to cause damage (there are reports of
another 400,000 houses destroyed).
- Response now moves from rescue to rehabilitation and reconstruction.
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