World Vision sends assessment team to Qinghai earthquake zone
By Meimei Leung, World Vision China’s Senior HEA Officer

Upon receiving news of the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked Qinghai Province, a remote area of western China on April 14, World Vision sent an assessment team of three to Qinghai the very next day.  The team arrived in Xining City, the Provincial capital to determine the quickest routes to disaster areas. 

Accessibility remains a challenge as many roads were damaged and destroyed while others have been restricted in order to transfer urgently needed relief materials. The affected areas rest about 820 km from the provincial capital, Xining City--it takes 10 to 15 hours to get there by road.  The airport in Yushu is temporarily closed.

As of April 16, More than 760 lives have been claimed by the quake while 11,447 people are reported injured, with more than 900 of them seriously so. 243 people are still missing. The State Commission of Disaster Relief reports that over 100,000 people have to evacuate to safety and 15,000 households have lost their houses in the earthquake and have evacuated to temporary shelter. The survivors face bitingly cold weather that includes high winds, sleet and below-freezing cold.  

World Vision’s assessment team also brought with them a supply of hygiene kits and child friendly kits to compliment the supplies already brought in by the government.  Based on our experience of the Sichuan Quake in 2008, many of the homeless will urgently require temporary shelters, especially in Qinghai’s cold, mountainous terrain.  The Ministry of Civil Affairs has sent 5,000 tents, 50,000 quilts and 50,000 winter jackets to the affected areas. On April 14, the Ministry of Civil Affairs upgraded the response as level 1 of Natural Disaster Emergency Response.  This is the highest response level for the country.  Feedback from the local government highlighted food as one of the urgent needs in the affected areas. World Vision assessment team will purchase food in Xining on April 16 to cater to the immediate needs.

The World Vision assessment team will also be looking into the needs of children.  With the loss of loved ones, homes and belongings, some children will suffer from shock and grief.  It is important to provide children with normalized routines and psycho-social support to help them recover from the impact of the disaster.