REMEMBERING CHINA’S EARTHQUAKE DISASTER REMEMBERING CHINA’S EARTHQUAKE DISASTER. Part II The Crisis Situations of Days 5-7 MAY 16-18, 2008 More lectures at Disasters Supercourse - http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/collections/collection52.htm Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of North Carolina, USA

THE DISASTER BEGAN ON MONDAY, 12 MAY 2008

CHINA’S EARTHQUAKE DISASTER: DAYS 5-7 The disaster, which began at 2:28 pm on Monday, May 12, 2008, unfolded day-by-day.

DAYS 5 - 7: A CRISIS SITUATION UNFOLDS Main-shock and aftershock-triggered landslides not only hindered search and rescue efforts, but ALSO created debris dams, damming rivers upstream from Beichuan

BEICHUAN: BEFORE QUAKE TRIGGERED LANDSLIDES

BEICHUAN: AFTER QUAKE TRIGGERED LANDSLIDES

JINGXIU: LANDSLIDES

MIANZHU: LANDSLIDES

HANWANG: LANDSLIDES

DAYS 5 - 7: A CRISIS SITUATION UNFOLDS In addition, may engineered dams were damaged, exacerbating the flood risk to Beichuan and other communities in the epicentral area.

SOLDIERS REPAIR CRACKS IN ZIPINGPU DAM:DUJIANGYAN

DAYS 5 - 7: A CRISIS SITUATION UNFOLDS Mass evacuations to get people out of harm’s way became the most urgent need as it became more and more evident that the partially dammed rivers were creating a major flood risk.

THOUSANDS EVACUATE Warned by government officials, survivors in Beichuan (100 km; 60 miles south) and other towns down river evacuated as fast as possible, using every available means.

EVACUATION TO ESCAPE FLOOD THREAT

FLEEING POSSIBLE FLOODING

EVACUATING

EVERYONE GOES

DAY 7 A 3-day period of mourning was officially announced on Monday, May 19th

THREE DAYS OF OFFICIAL MOURNING BEGIN: HANWANG

DAY 7 The Olympic Torch Relay was suspended to reflect the country’s anguish.

DAY 7 Mass burials began to be accelerated to reduce danger of disease.

MASS BURIALS AND THREE DAYS OF OFFICIAL MOURNING

EVENTUALLY, THE MORTALITY TOLL OF THE DISASTER REACHED 80,000