The 2010 Yushu earthquake struck on April 14, 2010 and registered a magnitude of 6.9 (USGS, EMSC) or 7.1 (CEA, CENC). It originated in Yushu, Qinghai, China, at 7:49 am local time. According to the Xinhua News Agency, 1,706 people have been confirmed dead, 256 missing, and 12,128 injured of which 1,424 are severely injured (as of 19th April 2010).
The epicenter was located in Rima village (日玛村/日麻村), Upper Laxiu township (上拉秀乡) of Yushu County, in remote and rugged terrain, near the border of Tibet Autonomous Region. The epicenter is about 30 km from Gyêgu town, the seat of Yushu County, and about 240 km from Qamdo. The epicenter was in a sparsely populated area on the Tibetan plateau that is regularly hit by earthquakes.
Located in a plateau region, Yushu has a much smaller population than the region affected by the massive earthquake that hit Sichuan province two years ago; however estimates say that approximately 85% of the buildings, traditional Tibetan structures made of stones and soil, have collapsed.
The main rescue force in Yushu is armies and the local population. The government has organized a professional rescue team with sixty-five members in Lhasa which arrived in Yushu by the end of 14th April. According to the army rescue team leader in Yushu, nearly all the rescue efforts right now are being done by hand. Consequently, it has been difficult to rescue victims trapped under heavy debris.
Machinery is needed to rescue these people, as are medical professionals and trained volunteers to care for the large number of wounded people. Additionally, tents are needed because the region experiences significant temperature swings from day to night. Several NGOs including the Red Cross have initiated fundraising efforts for the earthquake.
On 14th April 2010, the Yushu 2010 Earthquake destroyed nearly completely the ROKPA volunteer work of 20 years: 250 orphaned children and thousands of others in the remote area of Qinghai/Yushu (Tibet) are in a desperate situation. Please join the challenge and help ROKPA rebuild its projects, give education to the students and support old and sick people!
