Yet another earthquake brings a region to its knees. The 7.1 magnitude quake that rattled Qinghai, China on Wednesday has resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries. Reports estimate that close to 90 percent of the buildings in some areas are destroyed, and the local Red Cross estimates that 70 percent of schools have collapsed. Survivors are left to brave the harsh cold and strong winds as they try to sleep outside.
Fortunately, times of need are met with helping hands. Rescuers are sifting through rubble on their hands and knees, tents and heavy wool coats and blankets have been sent, and, according to the BBC, Chinese President Hu Jintao has sent 5,000 paramilitary and hundreds of soldiers to help.
The Qinghai province is located close to the Tibet border. Naturally, those in the area are quicker to respond. The Tibetan Village Project quickly reached out to offer their services in helping to coordinate the support of local NGO’s. They will focus on providing sustainable infrastructure and rebuilding schools. They have set up an online donation site and will have a dedicated website for updates soon.
MercyCorps has already hit the ground running, too. The group has experience from its efforts in the 2008 Sichuan Province earthquake for which they offered trauma counseling and help for children. You can give to their efforts here.
World Vision is particularly focused on the needs of children. “Based on what we learn on the ground, we will be moving quickly to meet the needs of children, particularly to help them establish a normal routine again and stay clear of dangerous rubble,” said Meimei Leung, who is leading the assessment team. They are also very concerned about the freezing temperatures and need for hygiene.
Even if you are nowhere near China, donations always help. Or, use technology to help others. During other recent disasters, social media companies like Twitter provided a real-time conversation between people in the midst of the crises and those wanting to help. Even though China shunned Google in recent advances, the company sill plans on coming to the rescue with the People Finder app. People can either search for others by name, or can offer information they might have about someone in hopes of uniting them with the searching party.
If you know of other organizations that are mobilizing to help the citizens of the Qinghai province, please leave a comment below.
Photo by Remko Tanis via Flickr.