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This post also available in:| 日本語 | · 中国：成都地震 |
| Español | · China: Terremoto en Chengdu |
A MAG 7.8 earthquake occurred in Chengdu today at 2:28pm or UTC 06:28:00. lyrrael, an American volunteer living in Chengdu reports the earthquake at twitter. Will also writes about his experience in his blog.
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Amanda, my dad says he is willing to talk about what he is seeing over there. His email is joe@archsync.com and his name is Joseph Parker. Phone calls may not be possible from what I understand.
Amanda, my father will talk to you when his phone works. Email him first at joe@archsync.com–his name is Joseph Parker. I understand you are done with tonight’s news, maybe he can give you something for tomorrow. I appreciate you trying to contact people living there. I am having a hard time breathing right now just thinking about my dad being in the middle of this. Thanks, Shana
Stephen,
You asked about the Panda Breeding & Research Centre: The news reported that all is fine. They were interviewing one of the members of staff there and she said that they felt the quake quite severely, but that that there was no damage or injury (including to pandas).
I was in Chendu less than 6 weeks ago, staying at Sims Cosy Garden. I am concerned about Allen Sutterfield Enlish teacher at Sichuan University. If anyone has contact with him please post any information.
Here in Chengdu, we didn’t sleep last night. Felt minor aftershocks almost the entire time, the widest spacing perhaps about 30 mins. There were also some more noticeable ones, one around 4:30am lasted for about 10 seconds and another at about 8am a little shorter. Our quake resistant building has quite a number of cracks, particularly in the stairwells. With the severity of the tremor that we felt, I really expected there to be much more damage to the typical 7-storey concrete frame and concrete plank floor apartment buildings. Had the epicenter been even a little closer or the quake a few points stronger, the situation in this city of around 8 million would have been very different!
I’m so glad to hear that people at Sichuan Normal University are okay. I just met a bunch of students, professors, and doctors from there at a conference in Beijing this past March.
I survived the 1989 San Fransisco earthquake when I was a student at UC Santa Cruz. We also slept outside and experienced after shocks for months afterward. And that one was only a 6.9! My thought and prayers are with everyone in China who is scared and suffering tonight.
Christy (Dai Re Di)
The government warned Chengdu residents that there could be a sizeable aftershock today at around 2pm. Most people heeded the warning and stayed in safe areas – it came at 3:10pm and was the biggest jolt today. However it only lasted for around 10 seconds and was nothing compared to yesterday’s 2-3 minute tremor. All schools and universities here are closed as a precautionary measure and it seems that university students have been told to sleep outdoors. That was fine last night, but the temperature has dropped and it’s been raining heavily all afternoon – many people are in for a long, cold, miserable night!
I had a class of students from Chengdu that came to Vancouver, WA. I am worried about them. If anyone has info about these kids please post it. They would be in university by now.
For many hours yesterday afternoon and evening, people were staying outdoors in Chengdu. Most seem to have gone inside now. However, It seemed that elderly folk (especially those in wheelchairs) stayed put on the grass. Some are started to spread sheets etc on the grass. There is generally an air of calmness in the mid northeast of the city where I am.
I was about to start teaching in a university on a 3rd floor classroom when the earthquake hit Monday afternoon at 2.25pm. The seven storey building was shaking. Most severely damaged were the lower floors. The greatest danger was falling pieces of ceiling and loose or open windows. All the campus buildings were safely evacuated. Chengdu people being what they are, were happily sitting in the streets and eating outdoors in the warm yet mild weather.
Deaths that occurred would presumably be in unstable or old buildings. Chengdu doesn’t usually experience windy conditions, so this eliminates the effects of flying debris associated with similar calamities , such as cyclones or hurricanes.
Classes have been cancelled for three days.
Cheers
Warren
Was Leshan hit hard?