Tens of thousands of earthquake victims in southwest China were living in tents or in the open yesterday, fearful of returning to their damaged homes a day after a magnitude 6.4 quake killed three and injured at least 300.
Hundreds of aftershocks sent jittery residents scurrying for safety.
"We worry so much about the aftershocks. This morning we had one, and we hid anyplace we could think of," said Cai Zhongting, who was living with his family in a tent.
The quake struck shortly after 5:30am on Sunday, said Xinhua news agency, citing the government's seismological bureau. The US Geological Survey measured the quake's magnitude at 6.2.
Xinhua said 20 of the injured were seriously hurt. The dead included a 4-year-old boy who was sleeping with his mother when the mud walls of their home collapsed, burying them, Xinhua said. The mother was later rescued.
Xinhua, citing a provincial civil affairs spokesman, said 120,000 people had been forced to leave their homes.
About 20,000 to 30,000 of them were living in tents, some marked "disaster relief," because the earthquake cracked walls in many buildings and made them unsafe to enter, said a man at the Ning'er County Seismological Bureau, who gave only his surname, Ma.
Another official from the bureau, who identified himself by his surname, Ye, said others were living without shelter because of a shortage of tents. He said more tents were being sent from other areas.
Ma said the local government was providing food and water to displaced residents, although Cai said he and his family -- his wife, 11-year-old daughter and three grandparents -- had to scrounge for supplies themselves in hot, mosquito-infested accommodation.
Some businesses opened yesterday, including a branch of the Agricultural Bank of China, which was running on generators and providing food and water to six employees, including Cai, who spoke from the bank.
Li Yan, another resident, said she had food but no running water.
"My family and I can't brush our teeth or take showers because of the water shortage. I am drinking mineral water provided by my unit," Li said.
More than 300 aftershocks had been recorded by the local seismic bureau, Xinhua reported, including one with a magnitude of 5.1.
Ning'er lies in a quake-prone mountainous region in Yunnan Province about 150km north of Laos.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia