UN stands ready to help victims of China’s deadly earthquake
13 May 2008 – The United Nations is prepared to assist the Chinese Government help the victims of yesterday’s deadly earthquake in
the southwest of the country.
According to media reports, more than 10,000 people have lost their lives following the quake, which measured about 7.8
on the Richter scale and was centred on Sichuan Province.
A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) Team alert was sent out yesterday to alert China that the world body
is ready to help if needed, Elizabeth Byrs of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( OCHA) told
reporters at a press briefing in Geneva today.
OCHA has also sent information to Chinese authorities detailing how UN emergency expert teams are on standby to provide
assistance.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) expressed its deep concern over the large number of children affected by the massive
quake. Television reports showed a collapsed middle school with 900 children trapped in the rubble near Sichuan’s
capital, Chengdu.
Despite limited access to information due to cell phone networks being damaged by the quake, the agency has received
reports that there were casualties in the neighbouring Gansu and Yunnan provinces as well.
According to UNICEF, Sichuan is one of China’s poorest and most populous provinces, with a total population of some 90
million.
The agency is worried that the number killed, injured and affected by the tremors will continue to rise as rescue teams
reach impacted areas.
“UNICEF and other UN agencies are not usually requested to assist the Government of China in its response to natural
disasters,” it said in a press release, noting that it has been informed that the National Disaster Reduction Centre of
China – the official coordinating body for disaster response – has dispatched rescue teams numbering in the thousands
supported by the country’s armed forces.
ENDS