Aftermath

Well, the aftershocks seem to have subsided. However, the problem of hysteria still prevails. It looks like not much damage has been sustained in Chengdu – a few cracks in some and tiles falling off the outside walls of a few buildings.



We were lucky, unlike the unfortunate people in Wenchuan, Dujangyan and Beichuan, where a lot of lives have been lost.

In Chengdu, people poured onto the streets yesterday in a panicked and frantic fashion. People didn’t know what to do nor did any authority figures know what to do. This sort of disaster has never happened in Sichuan, not in this lifetime anyway. I might guess that if this happened in Ireland, a similar reaction would occur, since we would not be prepared either.



A lot of people stayed outside all day and all night yesterday, and made make-shift camps. A lot of rumours were spreading about aftershocks and also the best thing to do in an earthquake situation, a lot of this info being misleading. A classmate of mine is from New Zealand, where they experience frequent earthquakes and also receive earthquake precaution training as primary school students.

What did we do? Stayed out on the lawn in front of our building, had a few beers and sang a few songs, to get a good atmosphere going. A lot of people are scared; however, since the worst is now over, there is not much to worry about. I heard that Japanese people in Chengdu don’t see why people are getting so hysterical. Since Japan experiences frequent quakes, so this explains their attitude. We should follow their lead.

Our classes have been cancelled for the next two days. Maybe it’s an over-reaction but I guess the management want to play it safe. My heart goes out to the unfortunate people still trapped in other parts of the province, and also to the people who have lost loved ones. I am sure that the army is doing its best to rescue people. If one thing China has in its favour, it’s manpower. Lets hope that they can save a lot of lives.