Beijing — April 14, 2010

According to Chinese news sources a powerful earthquake in northwest China killed at least 300 people, injured 8,000 and left many others buried under debris. The quake, at a magnitude of 7.1 occurred at 7:49 a.m. in Qinghai Province according to China’s earthquake administration. The earth quake, which struck at 7:49 a.m. in Qinghai Province, was reportedly described as having a magnitude of 7.1 by China’s earthquake administration. The United States Geological Survey recorded it as 6.9. According to Xinhua, the earthquake struck 240 miles southeast of Golmud, a town of about 130,000 on the Tibetan plateau best known as the site of the world’s largest salt lake.

The earthquake in southern Qinghai Province occurred as a result of strike-slip faulting in the tectonically complex region of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. This earthquake occurred several hundred kilometers north of the convergent India-Eurasia plate boundary, where the Indian Plate is moving northwards to Eurasia at a rate of approximately 46 mm/yr.

This convergence is the cause of the uplift of the Himalaya Mountains, at a rate of approximately 10 mm/yr, and the Tibetan Plateau, which is an extremely broad region of thickened and uplifted crust. The Tibetan Plateau is extending and translating east-southeastward within a larger zone of generally north-south convergence. Based on the location, depth, and moment tensor of the event, the Qinghai Province earthquake most likely reflects the interaction between these major tectonic forces, dominated in this location by southeastward translation along the Yushu fault, a strand of the larger Xianshuihe fault system. This fault accommodates approximately 9-12 mm/yr of motion, approximately one third of the overall eastward motion of Tibet.

The April 14, 2010 earthquake is one of the largest known historic earthquakes within several hundred kilometers of its location. In 1738, a nearby earthquake of approximately magnitude 6.5 caused over 300 fatalities. In the past ruptures on the Xianshuihe fault system further to the southeast includes:

Last August, 2009, Golmud was hit by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that destroyed dozens of homes but caused no deaths. Qinghai is an ethnic melting pot of Tibetans, Mongols and Han Chinese. It is adjacent to Sichuan Province, where at least 87,000 people died in a powerful earthquake in 2008.

China Earthquake Networks Center, reported to media that  the April 14^th earthquake struck in Yushu County, which is  a remote and mountainous area sparsely populated by farmers and herders, most of them ethnic Tibetans. The region is pocked with copper, tin and coal mines and rich in natural gas. A government Web site said the county’s population was around 80,000. Radio bulletins reported said that more than 80 percent of the homes in the area had collapsed but that schools and government buildings had largely remained standing. It was also reported that the road to the airport was impassable and that soldiers were digging out people from collapsed homes manually. Local officials said that phone service was limited and that rescue efforts were stymied by a lack of heavy equipment. Medical supplies and tents, they added, were in short supply. There was concern that the number of injuries and deaths may be increasing.

State news media reported that 700 paramilitary officers were already working in the quake zone and that another 3,000 troops would be sent to the area to assist in search and rescue efforts. The civil affairs ministry said it would also send 5,000 tents and 50,000 blankets to help the troops.

JIEGU, China14, April 2010

When this small town in remote western China was hit by an earthquake, a 14year-old boy Sangqiuyixi was sweeping the floor of his classroom at Yushu No.2 Ethnic High School. He broke the window and managed to escape. The earthquake struck at around 8 a.m. local time, when most students were already in school. Like Sangqiuyixi, every student who survived now has a story to tell.

Located in the southern part of Qinghai Province, Jiegu is the seat of Yushu County. It is close to the provincial border with Tibet Autonomous Region, and more than 90 per cent of its population of about 100,000 is ethnic Tibetans.

The magnitude-7.1 earthquake took a heavy toll on schools. Local authorities estimate that 80 per cent of primary schools and half of secondary school buildings in the county were severely damaged.

Attention focused on several schools in Jiegu, where 66 students and 10 teachers died. Chinese media published images of three young children in blue school uniforms lying dead on the pavement – a grim picture of the high casualty rate at poorly constructed schools in Sichuan in 2008, when a bigger quake killed 87,000 people. Local officials said that phone service was limited and that rescue efforts were stymied by a lack of heavy equipment and also observed that there was a shortage of tents and medical supplies. Military trucks have been deployed to the remote area, 480 miles away from the provincial capital, Xining, to aid rescue and relief efforts. Witnesses reported the collapse of many brick and wood buildings, with people rushing through the debris to free those trapped inside.

Half the buildings at the Yushu vocational school are said to have collapsed. Though 600 rescuers from the paramilitary force had come to help in the rescue mission there was a shortage of equipment and disaster relief gear. The need for such items far exceeds the supply. They needed tents, temporary housing, and power generators mobile kitchens among other things.

Power and water supplies have been cut although some early reports suggested larger buildings had stood firm. The population is relatively scattered, making it hard to assess damage.

The earth quake, which struck at 7:49 a.m. in Qinghai Province, was reportedly described as having a magnitude of 7.1 by China’s earthquake administration. The United States Geological Survey recorded it as 6.9.

According to Xinhua, the earthquake struck 240 miles southeast of Golmud, a town of about 130,000 on the Tibetan plateau best known as the site of the world’s largest salt lake.

Dr David Rothery, of the Open University’s department of earth & environmental sciences, said that like the Haiti quake, it happened when the ground either side of a fault slipped sideways. He cited that in this case it was a consequence of India’s northward collision into Asia, which for millions of years has slowly been forcing the Tibetan plateau out towards the east.

But the Qinghai quake was at a slightly more shallow depth than that which struck Haiti, said Rothery. When quakes are shallow, the shaking of the ground is more. Earthquakes are common in this region, but there has not been anything so big within 200 km of the current epicentre since at least 1900.

With more than 300 people missing in Yushu prefecture, Qinghai province, the authorities sent canine teams and heavy lifting equipment to help rescue workers search for people trapped in the rubble left by yesterday’s 7.1 magnitude quake.

H.H. the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader conducted prayers for victims and survivors of the earthquake in the Quighan province of China and a Long Life Offering for His Holiness .Both ceremonies were conducted at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, India. He was joined at the ceremonies by H.H. the 17th Karmapa as both leaders continued the cultural trend of Buddhist leaders offering compassion and support wherever it is needed.

The Dalai Lama has already petitioned the Chinese government to allow him to travel to the earthquake site in order to comfort those who are suffering. This is a particularly significant request as he was born in that area.

He reportedly said in a statement, that to fulfill the wishes of many of the people there, he was eager to go there him to offer them comfort, but because of the physical distance, at present he was unable to comfort those directly affected, but he would like them to know he was praying for them .Although most of the region’s people are Tibetan, there has been no response from the Chinese government. According to news sources Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of encouraging separatism in Tibetan areas, an allegation he has denied. According to the venerable Dalai Lama,”May the people affected by this earthquake and all natural disasters find peace and comfort as they move forward with their lives. And may we all awaken to the reality that such events can happen anywhere on Earth.”

Dream Dare Win

www.jeywin.com

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