The Star, 21 May 2008
CHENGDU: Although she lost 10 family members, including her mother and two-year-old daughter, in the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake, a Pengzhou police officer has remained on duty as part of rescue operations in the affected areas.
“It’s unbearable to see the survivors suffering and I want to help them,” said Jiang Min, 28.
The sight of injured children is unbearable to her, but she has had little time to grieve, instead making every effort to help in rescue operations and earning the respect of many.
The state television station also broadcast news of a soldier who had to leave his pregnant wife in a roadside shelter without food to report for duty in rescue operations.
Later, he left a message in an earthquake relief and assistance forum for help to find his spouse, and members of the public and the media responded.
“The soldiers and other relief workers have helped us tremendously.
“We want to do our part to help them in return as they can’t take care of their own families for the time being,” said a member of the public.
It was reported that about 200 rescuers were buried in rubble when aftershocks struck again. One of them survived 178 hours in the rubble before being rescued.
Earlier, the Sichuan Provincial Government’s website ran a statement by the Sichuan Seismological Bureau informing residents to prepare for possible aftershocks.
Our hotel distributed leaflets late at night informing guests of the announcement and asked us to take precautions. A car park at ground level is serving as a temporary rest area for hotel guests.
The whole city looks like a campsite, with tents and makeshift shelters at every corner.
Since the main earthquake, there have been more than 7,000 tremors, big and small.
Experts have stressed that buildings here are earthquake-safe and people should remain calm.
The weather forecast was for heavy rain and thunderstorm in the quake zone last night, and there were Internet postings of another sighting of thousands of toads and frogs on Monday.
Some claimed this may not be a sign of another earthquake, while others argued that the sighting of thousands of toads in Mianyang on the eve of the Wenchuan earthquake was a warning.
Many residents here were as gloomy as the grey skies of Chengdu on Tuesday.
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