Disaster relief work in Jiegu/Yushu continues, as so many needs following the earthquake will persist for weeks and months to come. Up to three years may be needed for full reconstruction of the town … and this means that many local residents will have to live in their makeshift tent-homes for at least one winter, and probably two winters, before moving back to a semblance of normality. It is not an easy time, and we will continue to assist people in Yushu in as many ways as possible.

Specifically, we are now focusing our relief efforts on three fronts: distribution of emergency supplies, provision of clean water, and (discussions regarding) the possible establishment of a rehabilitation centre somewhere in the prefecture. Relief supplies currently being distributed to needy families in Jiegu include large tents, beds for the elderly, household cooking sets, solar powered lighting, thermal clothing, etc. Additional requests also are being made to assist with provision of fuel for heating and cooking. On-site we are cooperating with government and village leaders, other emergency relief camps, and local families. Regarding water, we are now arranging for a new low-tech (appropriate technology) water purification system to be trialed, which could meet the needs of several households per unit; and we also are in discussion with a large firm about the possible installation of an community-scale water purification system that can provide for over 10,000 people with one unit and could be used in township centers. Rehabilitation needs are equally great and we are therefore also exploring the different ways possible to assist in this area, as we already have on staff, or available, medical personnel well suited to help meet such needs.

Continued assistance is needed, however, to help carry out all of the above activities – particularly in the area of on-going financial support. The relief and recovery work following the devastating earthquake that affected Yushu on April 14, 2010, will need to be long-term and your support is enormously appreciated.

Thank you!

(if you are interested in helping with the needs listed in a financial capacity, please go here)

We have been able to map out our relief work from last week in response to the Yushu quakes.  In order to grasp the big picture of the Plateau Perspectives continued relief work in Yushu we thought it would be nice to share it with you as well (click here).  Also, make sure and give the video below a quick look.  This video footage coincides well with the timeline and will hopefully give you an idea of how extensive the quake damage in Yushu really is.

In other news, we were able to get two fresh doctors into camp this morning for continued support of our medical relief work.  We are still up and running in Yushu and doctors and nurses continue to see between 150 to 200 patients all while providing extremely thorough medical care.  We continue to be pleased to be able to support the Yushu community at this time.

VIEW TIMELINE

Some doctors from team 2 needed to depart for Xining this morning to catch return flights home. They traveled over icy roads through driving snow for much of the 500 mile journey, but arrived safely in Xining before 9 PM local time. Additional medical personnel are now in Xining and are expected to travel to Yushu over the next few days.

Pictures after the jump…

We were excited to get two more of our teams down to Yushu today.  Our convoy arrived around 6 am this morning and was able to immediately jump into action assessing further needs as well as turn our vehicles in to makeshift ambulances.  It was a great step in order to be able to bring the injuried to areas where they could receive help.

Teams from the field report helping over 200 injured over the course of the day.  Our teams were also able to go out and bring in those who were more seriously injured to medical checkpoints.  We have another two teams heading down tomorrow at 7am with Kham Tibetan translators from Yushu as well as more medical personnel.

In general we were able to observe the following while on the field

• No electricity that isn’t generator driven
• Military has been able to set up a “mobile hospital” with standard hospital equipment
• The military and the Health Department are still excited to have us help their Peoples relief efforts
• Serious need for water and food are still present.
• Front end loaders are still clearing the streets
• Survivors are still being rescued from the rubble.

click on the link above for a large panoramic view of Jiegu in January of 2010 before the quake.

As of 5:00 p.m. local time, more than 15 of our workers have arrived in Yushu. Another group of 15 was sent this evening, and they should arrive mid-morning Saturday, April 17th.  These groups consist of highly trained health professionals and skilled surgeons, along with six logistics coordinators.  Logistics coordinators are responsible for driving the doctors into the area so that they are rested and ready for action upon arrival.  They also set up and manage the base of operations, keep them running fluidly, and transport patients and medical supplies to and from our bases of operation.

News from the field today was very positive.  Teams traveling to Yushu have reported seeing massive amounts of government aid pouring into the area.  We’ve heard that our initial team was able to administer medical care to large amounts of seriously and moderately injured people, and also assist and transport the injured to the medical base of operations.  Tomorrow our team will focus on moving seriously injured and immobile patients to different medical bases.

The Health Department seems very happy to have our teams in the area and we feel privileged to work with the local government in order to provide relief to its people

Jiegu from mr name on Vimeo.

Above is a picture of Yushu (Jiegu) taken 4 months ago.  The town is actually a bit larger than is shown in the photo, but it gives you an idea of the landscape as well as the building style in the area.  The pictures below were taken literally minutes after the earthquake occurred.  It has been reported that the damage is widespread with upwards of 85% of the structures being destroyed.

As you can see, most of the buildings were reduced to absolute rubble.  For more information see our “Relief Efforts” page as well as an audio interview from an eye witness at the scene.  We, again, are thankful to be able to assist in the government effort in this area, to bring relief to these people.

Initial requests from the prefectural government to our organization (Plateau Perspectives) include medical supplies, tents, and blankets. We will be sending an advance medical team down in a few hours to assess the situation and set up to receive additional supplies and medical personnel.

Yushu Prefecture is where all of our work for the past 10+ years has taken place, and Jaegu (Yushu Town) is home to many of our local friends. We’re very sad to have lost at least one friend and are waiting to hear news about several others. All of our fellow expats who were in the area at the time of the quake have made it out safely.

Links
Enter the following Chinese links with latest news and pictures into translate.google.com to read the pages in English.

Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China Website
http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2010-04/14/content_1580853.htm

Qinghai Province People’s Government Website
http://www.qh.gov.cn/html/31/133180.html

Qinghai Earthquake Portal
http://www.eqqh.gov.cn/zwgk/zwxx/201004/2298.shtml

USGS Latest Earthquakes in the World – Past 7 days
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html

Magnitude 6.9 – SOUTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA 2010 – April 13 23:49:37 UTC
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010vacp.php

For Canada/UK donations that need tax deductable receipts, please visit http://www.plateauperspectives.org/donate.htm