周三，一场强烈地震袭击了中国偏远的西北省份——与西藏毗邻的青海，造成至少400人死亡，另有上万人需要紧急医治。
北京方面派出数千解放军和武警官兵赶赴青海省玉树县，民间组织的部分援助物资已从省会西宁起运。
玉树政府发言人卓华夏告诉新华社：“我看到的，到处都是伤员。现在最大的问题就是缺帐篷、缺医疗器械、药品，缺医务人员。”
中国官方电视台称，国家主席胡锦涛和总理温家宝要求全力做好抗震救灾工作，并派副总理回良玉赶赴青海指导救灾工作。
西藏流亡精神领袖、生于青海的达赖喇嘛在一份声明中表示，他为灾民祈祷。这位诺贝尔和平奖得主说：“我希望，所有可能的援助和救灾工作，能够到达灾区并受益灾民。我也在探索我能如何促进这些努力。”
尽管这场地震的震中位于中国一个最偏远、人口最为稀少的地区，但中国专家表示，人员伤亡情况仍可能非常严重，因为地震发生在清晨，大多数居民还未起床。
中国地震局称，这场地震的震级为7.1级，发生时间为当地时间周三上午7时49分。而追踪世界各地地震的美国地质调查局(USGS)表示，它测量到的震级为6.9级。
目击者描述了地震现场的混乱和恐慌场面，称有大量伤员和流着血的人聚集在玉树县府结古镇。该镇约有10万人口。
中国专家表示，当地的建筑及楼宇质量可能相对较差，无法抵御强地震。
政府表示，已派出5000名解放军和武警官兵赶赴结古镇，有700名官兵正在废墟中抢救被埋群众。该镇通往机场的道路已经损坏，多数电话线路中断。
在临近玉树县的称多县，一位退休官员的妻子——邱珍（音译）告诉英国《金融时报》，当地有许多单层的土房倒塌，导致死伤。
邱女士说：“我们听说玉树有些学校和医院已经倒塌，但我们没到过那里。”
根据政府发布的公告，有大约30至40名学生被埋在一所职业技术学校倒塌的废墟中。
这场地震引发了山体滑坡，还导致道路被毁、输电线路中断，一座水库的大坝也出现了裂缝。
结古镇一名政府官员表示，有关部门急需帐篷、医务人员和医疗器械。
地震震中距青藏铁路约有200公里，但中国媒体报道称，目前还不清楚这条铁路是否受到影响。
2008年5月，一场震级为8级的地震袭击了与青海毗邻的四川省，造成8万多人遇难。
译者/何黎
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001032209
At least 400 people died and a further 10,000 were in need of urgent medical attention after a strong earthquake on Wednesday hit the remote northwestern Chinese province of Qinghai, near the Tibetan border.
Beijing dispatched hundreds of troops to Qinghai Province's Yushu county and some aid shipments from private organisations have set off from the provincial capital, Xining.
“I see injured people everywhere. The biggest problem now is that we lack tents, we lack medical equipment, medicine and medical workers,” Zhuohuaxia, a local spokesman, told the Xinhua news agency.
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have demanded no effort be spared in rescue attempts, and sent Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu to Qinghai to oversee relief work, state television said.
Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who was born in Qinghai, said in a statement he was praying for the victims. “It is my hope that all possible assistance and relief work will reach these people. I am also exploring how I, too, can contribute to these efforts,” said the Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Although the quake was centred in one of China's most remote and sparsely populated regions, Chinese experts said there were likely to be heavy casualties because it struck in the early morning when most residents were still in bed.
The Chinese Earthquake Administration said the quake had a magnitude of 7.1 and struck at 7:49 am local time on Wednesday but the US Geological Survey, which tracks earthquakes worldwide, said it measured 6.9.
Witnesses described scenes of confusion and panic as crowds of injured and bleeding people gathered in the county township of Jiegu, which has a population of about 100,000.
The quality of construction and buildings in the region was likely to be relatively poor and unable to withstand strong tremors, Chinese experts said.
The government said 5,000 soldiers and police had been dispatched to Jiegu, where roads to the airport were damaged and most phone lines were down, and 700 soldiers were working in the rubble to rescue people.
In nearby Chengduo county, Qiu Zhen, the wife of a retired government official, told the Financial Times that many single-story earthen houses had collapsed causing injuries.
“We heard some schools and hospitals collapsed in Yushu but we haven't been there,” Ms Qiu said.
Some 30-40 students were buried in the collapse of a vocational school, according to government reports.
The quake triggered landslides, damaged roads, cut power lines and cracked a reservoir.
A government official in Jiegu said the authorities were in urgent need of tents, medical personnel and equipment.
The epicentre of the quake was about 200km away from the Qinghai-Tibet railway but Chinese media reports said it was unclear whether the rail line had been affected.
In May 2008, a magnitude-8 earthquake hit neighbouring Sichuan province, killing more than 80,000 people.
没有评论:
发表评论