Earthquake relief efforts continue in China despite altitude, cold and other obstacles
On April 14,in Yushu County, China suffered through an earthquake that registered 7.1 on the richter scale. The quake destroyed a poor town in Yushu County called Jiegu town. About 85% of the buildings crumbled by the earthquake and many children and their famlies have been displaced due to the quake.
Unicef rescuers have been working in China to send items such as blankets and clothing to children to those who have been displaced by the quake.
During the relief efforts, there have been several set backs for the Unicef rescuers. Because of the high altitude, about 200 workers have been sent away from the area due to sickness. Since a lot of the buildings have been destroyed, the people can't escape from the freezing temperatures.
Schools have also suffered a great deal of damage, but the government will get the schools up and running as soon as possible to return to normalcy. A Unicef representative in China and Chair of the U.N. Disaster Management team , Dr. Yin Yin Nwe believes that returning to normalcy will be very beneficial to the children and it will allow them to recover quickly.
Unicef will also be donating winter boots, student kits and shoulder bags, blackboards, medical equipment, generators and ambulances to the earthquake stricken area.
Article derived from the Unicef website
www.unicef.org/infobycountry/china_53363.html
