China hit by 6.9 magnitude earthquake

Yushu, Qinghai Province in Northwestern China was hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake according to the China Earthquake Administration in Beijing. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake was at 6.9 on the richer scale. The epicenter is at the town of Rima, 30 miles away from Jiegu (one of the worst hit by the quake).

In 2008, a neighboring Sichuan province was struck an earthquake leaving 90,000 people dead or missing. 5335 Chinese students were buried when their schools collapsed during the magnitude 8.0 Sichuan earthquake. Now they have to face the same nightmare as students were trapped when several schools were trapped. Among the worst hit, 22 students of the Yushu Vocational School has died according to an official of Xinhua News Agency. President Hu Jintao has allocated S30 million (200 million Yuan) for relief and has ordered 5000 soldiers, medical workers and rescuers to go to Yushu to help the 700 troops who are already in Yushu.

The problem that they now face is the lack of medical supplies, medical equipments, and medical workers. The nearest big city is 530 miles away. That is 12 hours away under the best conditions. Majority of the houses in Jiegu were made of wood and mud. 85 percent of the houses in Jiegu have been destroyed. Survivors had to no choice but to spend the night outdoors. Since Yushu is 13,780 above sea level, the temperature could drop below freezing point. Survivors had nothing but blankets to shield them against the cold winds.

Earthquakes are increasing by frequency and intensity. This year alone, several powerful earthquakes have caused massive destruction in infrastructure and have claimed the lives of so many people. According to earthquake experts, a lot of earthquake hit different parts of the planet yearly. People are just becoming more aware and more concerns about the earthquake due to what has happened in Haiti and Chile. Is this something to worry about? Does the frequency and intensity of earthquakes of 2010 fall on the margin of normal?