Chinese Earthquake How YOU Can Help

I have been watching the news about the earthquake in China that has already killed approximately 20,000 people and that number is expected to rise dramatically

On Tuesday night brave rescuers were racing against time to find survivors a day after the strongest quake to hit China in 32 years jolted southwestern Sichuan province, demolishing buildings and trapping tens of thousands beneath the rubble.

As many of you know, I have a special love for China and the Chinese people. In fact, I just returned from Chengdu in Sichuan Province a few weeks ago. It was my 8th trip to China. In fact the video on the top left hand side of this site was taken in Chengdu where over 1,200 people have died.

I have several very close friends in Chengdu and have been very worried about them. I managed to speak with one of my friends yesterday by mobile and they told me their 20 story building had been evacuated.  They are having numerous aftershocks and planned to spend that night out in the open.

Very Fast Response By Chinese Army

Ordered by the General Staff of the PLA headquarters, up to 600 People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops entered Wenchuan county on foot  (no easy task as they had to climb over maontains of rubble) the epicenter, late Tuesday and pulled more than 1,000 people from debris, according to the disaster relief headquarters of the Chengdu Military Command.It was not clear how many had survived. The county city is estimated to have 110,000 permanent and migrant residents.

Earlier reports from Sichuan said only about 2,300 people of a town in the hardest hit county, named Yingxiu, out of a total population of 10,000, were known to have survived.

Chinese  Premier Wen Jiabao Leading By Example

The confirmed national death toll reached 12,300 by 2 am Wednesday, nearly all of them in Sichuan, according to the temporary disaster relief headquarters headed by Premier Wen Jiabao, who arrived in Dujiangyan, to oversee the rescue work hours after the quake.

Another 9,404 were buried in debris, 7,841 were missing and 26,206 people were injured, according to the headquarters.

Wen Jiabao appears to be a sincere and dedicated leader and has shown both leadership and humility in flying straight to the hardest hit areas to oversee the rescue work. Wen comforted a crying child, saying, "Don't cry. Food will be sent in a short time. Biscuits and milk powder will be sent in a short time."

He then told villagers: "I know some of your family and friends have died. We are deeply saddened. Some people are still trapped. We will do our utmost to rescue them."

As of Tuesday night, almost 20,000 soldiers and armed policemen had arrived in Sichuan province, with 30,000 more troops advancing toward the quake-hit regions by planes, trains and trucks, and on foot.

How You Can Help

My heartfelt thoughts and deepest prayers are with the victims and their families as well as the brave rescuers who are putting their own lives on the line to help those trapped under fallen buildings.