China Quake zone braces for more aftershocks
Pastor Dale Morgan
China Quake zone braces for more aftershocks*
* Story Highlights
* NEW: Two men rescued near quake epicenter, Xinhua reports
* Major aftershock "likely," says seismological bureau
* Official death toll from China quake rises to 34,073 with another
245,109 hurt
* China observing three days of national mourning; Olympic torch
relay suspended
CHENGDU, China (CNN) -- Fleeting signs of hope surfaced in southwestern
China Tuesday, eight days after a devastating earthquake laid waste to
many parts of the region.
Too afraid to go inside, Chengu residents sleep outside on sidewalks
Monday night.
Over a 14-hour period, rescue teams pulled two men from the rubble in
Sichuan province -- one from a mine in Qingchuna county and a second
from a hydroelectric plant in Wenchuan county, state-run media reported.
They had been buried for six days and 20 hours and seven days and 11
hours, respectively, according to China's Xinhua news agency.
The rescues came as China paused to honor victims of the disaster and
braced themselves for further aftershocks.
The Sichuan Seismological Bureau warned residents that a strong
aftershock was likely to happen in the province, Xinhua reported.
The bureau said there was a bigger possibility of the aftershock between
Monday and Tuesday as it warned local government and people to take
precautions. Video Watch dramatic footage of the quake striking Sichuan
province »
"You expect to see aftershocks following a major earthquake," said Susan
Potter, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden,
Colorado, "but they become less frequent and smaller as time goes on."
Potter said the USGS does not issue aftershock predictions.
State media showed people camping on the streets and in city squares
after the government-issued aftershock warning.
China's observance of the earthquake came exactly a week after the
7.9-magnitude earthquake shook the county's southwest to its core --
2:28 p.m. Monday. The temblor killed at least 34,073 and injured another
245,109.
The observance erupted into a loud outpouring of emotion among thousands
of people in Chengdu, a major city close to the quake's epicenter and
the capital of China's Sichuan province. They ended three minutes of
silent observance with cries of grief and shouts of support for the
recovery effort. Video Watch the emotional observance in Chengdu »
The observance began three days of mourning in China, including a
temporary suspension of the Olympic torch relay.
Strong aftershocks and fears of flash flooding and landslides hindered
rescue efforts. Chinese seismologists measured a 5.4 magnitude tremor at
2:06 p.m. Monday, Xinhua reported.
Mud flows buried more than 200 relief workers who were working to repair
damaged roads in the Sichuan province, Xinhua reported Monday afternoon.
The earthquake severely disrupted power and communication facilities in
the Sichuan province, but Chinese officials said Monday they have made
major progress in restoring service.
The electricity production and distribution has been returned to a level
about 80 percent of what it was before the quake, although the four
hardest hit counties closest to the epicenter are still without power,
an official said.
Telecommunication services have been restored to 76 of the 109 townships
in the province, another official said.
Workers battled landslides and other barriers to carry fiber
communications equipment on foot to restore communications, the official
said.
So far, almost 60 aid organizations from 13 countries were assisting in
the aftermath of the quake. Among the countries are India, France,
Singapore, the Philippines and the United States.
The quake was the worst tremor to strike China in three decades; a 1976
earthquake killed more than 250,000 people.