Global Voices

English

The world is talking, are you listening?

My family had an F/E student from Chengdu and we are concerned. How bad was Chengdu hit? Damage?

My dad lives in Chengdu. He is American, 64 years old, married to a Chinese citizen. He emailed me that he and his wife are uninjured but have no water or gas. I will ask him if he is willing to be interviewed.

I just survived earthquake, avalanche and landslide in Mr. Siguniang. We were on horse back hiking on a scenary trail when everything happened. I was the last registered tourist to retreat to safety. Avalanche stopped only 50-100 m from where I survived.

For those with friends or relatives in Chengdu city proper, please do not be too concerned. The earthquake was significant, but did not cause any major damage. We have not heard any reports of serious building collapses, only injuries caused by masonry falling. Earlier, up to about 9pm, almost everyone was outdoors, but most have now returned to their homes. There are still quite a number who would rather remain outside and are ‘camped’ out in parks or by the rivers, sleeping on mats, quilts or blankets grabbed from their houses. The phone systems are overloaded by the volume of calls, so again don’t be too worried if you can’t contact someone – just keep trying.

We are trying to contact my stepson Ben Hunter who worked at the bookworm in Chengdu