China appeals for heavy lifting equipment as time runs out to find earthquake survivors | World news | guardian.co.uk

Is it really possible that the Chinese can use ordinary construction equipment for earthquake extraction? To be advanced in earthquake preparations, they should have those teams of emergency personnel trained to use equipment that is designed to do the job of moving collapsed buildings. And what role did the recent killing of the dogs with clubs play in this scenario? Animals do exhibit precursory quake signs, INCLUDING illness. The sincerity of the government is what seems to still be in question. Because if the condition of the plate tectonics is so severe they may need to reassess their national goals; and no one really believes they can or will do this, undoubtably. Kind of like in the U.S., too; except that China is so much bigger. As for these nuclear programs, has anyone found them to be a stabilizing influence on any level? I mean they need a Corps of Nuclear Engineers for this group of hardworking adults. Who really believes they aren't excaberating their own condition with the nuclear program, whatever it is? Peaceful, or not, it doesn't mix with the tectonics. And at some eastern religious esoteric point, it doesn't matter if it's love or war...it's physics, it's nuclear, and throwing a party, as they mess around with it.

EXERPT:


China appeals for heavy lifting equipment as time runs out to find earthquake survivors | World news | guardian.co.uk

The Chinese government made an emergency appeal for cranes and heavy lifting equipment today amid warnings that time is running out to rescue survivors from Monday's huge earthquake.

They ought to be available as China is in the midst of a construction boom that has made it home to more of the world's cranes than any other country.

Dramatic footage broadcast by the state-run China Central Television network showed a young woman waving weakly from under slabs of concrete at the site of a devastated hospital in Dujiangyan. She was eventually freed by rescue workers — one of at least three people found alive three days after the 7.9 magnitude quake that churned up large swaths of Sichuan province in south-west China.

But far more bodies than survivors are being uncovered. The official death toll rose by almost a third yesterday to 19,509. About 30,000 others are believed to be buried under mountain landslides and collapsed structures.

Frustrated at reports that a broken bridge was preventing aid supplies from reaching 100,000people in Hangzhou, the premier reportedly said: "I don't care how you do it. I just want those 100,000 people out of danger. That is an order." He then abruptly rang off, according to the report.

The defence ministry said today it would deploy an extra 101 helicopters to help reach remote mountain communities cut off by the quake. But even the world's biggest army is ill equipped to deal with the devastation of an estimated 4m homes across hundreds of miles of often mountainous terrain.

In a rare public appeal, the government called for donations of rescue equipment, including rubber boats, demolition tools, shovels and mobile phones. The ministry of information industry's website said that 100 cranes were needed.


The state media has emphasised the public-spiritedness of blood donors and donations of food, clothes and water. Health officials say they need more medical supplies for what is expected to be a long campaign to treat injuries and ward off disease.
The roads of north-west Sichuan are filled with convoys of army trucks and volunteer vehicles, many adorned with red banners proclaiming the names of the donor company or work unit.

But several communities report shortages of water. Bodies are still being piled up on streets for removal by trucks or burials in pits.

Fears of a knock-on disaster persist. Officials said they have dealt with the cracks that have appeared at the giant Zipingpu dam near Dujiangyan, but warn of the possible collapse of other hydropower plants near the epicentre in Wenchuan county.

"The damage from the quake is extensive and the hazards are unclear," the minister for water resources, Chen Lei, said.

The safety of nuclear facilities is another worry. Mianyang hosts China's leading nuclear weapons research, development and testing facility, the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics. Officials at the site refused entry to the Guardian, but from the outside the structures appeared undamaged.

In other areas, the Chinese authorities have been praised for their openness. Putting aside historical enmity, Beijing has accepted an offer from Japan of an emergency rescue team.