The greatest challenge facing the human race is how to tackle man-made and natural disasters threatening human survival. It is not just the quality of life that is threatened, but life itself. Indeed, modern man is neither at peace with himself nor with his environment. In one direction lies the prospect of unprecedented economic and political progress, but in another direction lies self-annihilation, disasters, tragedies and hopelessness. And yet never before in history has mankind wielded less power over its destiny and environment as now.
It is against this backdrop that we join the comity of nations in sympathizing with the Chinese government for the major earthquake which struck the mountainous Sichuan province of the country, 1,300 miles Southwest of Beijing, on May 12, damaging buildings, neighbouring countries, and killing some 70,000 persons and burying many alive. Thousands were also injured in the natural disaster. Uncountable number of people are said to be buried alive in the rubbles of collapsed buildings, schools and factories. In Wenchuan County alone, 2,300 people out of the 10,000 inhabitants were found to be dead. More agonizing is the huge number of school pupils trapped in classrooms and over 900 pupils buried alive.
Measuring about 7.8 in the Richter scale, the quake shook every city in China as well as far away Bangkok , Thailand ’s capital, and even spread to Vietnam . At the moment China is yet to recover from the stunning aftershocks of the quake. The occupants of one of China ’s tallest buildings, the Jinmao Tower , in Shanhai, have been evacuated. Even the sick in hospitals have been evacuated into the open fields. Electricity and all forms of communication have been cut off. As at the time of going to the press the official death toll and number of people trapped in the rumbles were still increasing, suggesting that more staggering casualties and damages will be recorded in the tragedy.
While we sympathize with the government and people of China for the unspeakable human disaster which befell their country at a time the world is preparing to converge in Beijing for the biggest sporting fiesta on earth-the Olympics - we call for sustained international humanitarian aid and relief to the quake victims. We particularly commend the outstanding humanitarian work of members of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in China . We also call for more international relief and assistance to the quake victims. More importantly, appropriate measures should be taken to forestall future earthquakes in China or minimize the damage and sufferings resulting from them. China is said to be prone to seismic activities. It has been suffering from severe earthquakes for a long time. The latest quake is said to be one of the worst since the 1976 quake which killed 242,000 people. Seismographers, geological surveyors and experts studying the Chinese earthquakes should be able to work out means of predicting the next earthquake in order to minimize its human toll. With the aid of modern technology they certainly have the power to formulate all forms of earthquake management techniques : prevention, preparedness, relief and rehabilitation. They should also enhance the earthquake-rapid-response capabilities of China to prevent or mitigate the debilitating effects of another earthquake.
