Natural disasters of the Asia Pacific Region: 2010 Yushu Qinghai Earthquake

Researchers push for increased public awareness after quake kills thousands.

The earthquake resulted from a type of fault movement known as strike-slip, in which the two sides of the fault move horizontally past each other.

The 2010 Yushu Earthquake was an earthquake disaster with the greatest destruction, widest spatial extent, and greatest difficulty for relief efforts in the history of Yushu, involving 19 townships in six counties of the prefecture.

Police report shortage of relief equipment after magnitude 7.1 quake hits Yushu county in north-west province of Qinghai.

"The streets in Jiegu are thronged with panic and full of injured people, with many of them bleeding from their injuries," he said. One local official was quoted by the BBC saying: "We have nothing now. The loss is huge."
(Includes map of the area)

Two-and-a-half years of reconstruction work has been wrapped up in northwest China's quake-hit Yushu Prefecture, just as winter ushers in blizzards and hailstorms.

Beijing, 6 September 2010 – As more than 200 million Chinese pupils on returned to school this week, about 4,500 children in Chengduo County of earthquake-affected Yushu Prefecture have also resumed their schooling in prefabricated classrooms provided by UNICEF.

The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) launched the 2nd level Disaster Response Pre-plan in the morning of 14th, April which was raised to the top level in the afternoon of the same day according to the disaster situation. A batch of tents, quilts and winter coats worthy of RMB 1 million was transported to the quake-hit Yushu from Ningxia Red Cross Disaster Preparedness Center.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross Society of China launched the Emergency Appeal to the public to donate in cash and in kind to actively participate in the disaster relief activities for Yushu.