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Earthquake
Updates — Earthquake in China
Wolong Town — Tent
City
On our first afternoon after leaving
the Panda Center, we went to Wolong Town.
The road between the Panda Center and
Wolong Town was in very bad shape. Rock
slides were everywhere. Enough of the
rocks had been moved to allow one vehicle
to get through. Many of the local’s
homes along the road were totally destroyed.
The Wolong Town had been home to the Wolong Panda Center’s
administration building, the Wolong Hotel, and all of the staff
housing. None of these buildings had collapsed, but all were cracked
and considered unsafe and therefore uninhabitable. The entire area
in front of the administration building was now a sea of blue tents.
The panda sculpture next to the pond seemed to be watching over
the tents. Cars are now being used for storage of personal items.
The administration building (greenish gray building in photo) had
two wings off a center portion. Dr. Li said the two wings were
moving up and down and to illustrate he flapped his arms up and
down like a bird. Huge cracks were visible everywhere in the Wolong
hotel. There was significant roof damage on all the staff apartments.
I spent a lot of time in the evening talking to staff and Dr. Li who said prior
to the earthquake there had been 63 pandas at Wolong. As of this afternoon there
were 47. 8 had been sent to Beijing, 6 to Bifengxia and two were still missing — Xiao
Xiao and Mao Mao. I was also told they thought Mao Mao might have been trapped
in her enclosure and we should know the next day. (As we now know, Mao Mao was
not missing but crushed when the wall of her enclosure came down on top of her. (See
report “Beginning at the End”)
In the evening, Dr. Li asked if I would like to take a walk. We
walked through the staff housing area. The area had the quiet feeling
of a ghost town that had been abandoned on a moment’s notice.
Bowls and bottles where still on kitchen tables. Laundry was still
hanging on clothes lines. Children’s toys were scattered
about. All the signs of a vibrant community, but the people were
gone. Boulders the size of SUVs landed in the court yard, missing
buildings by a few feet.
NBC had taken MREs (meals ready to eat) and peanut butter and jelly
and tents- but again the most cordial staff of Wolong absolutely
insisted we share their dinner. A large tent had been set up as
the “kitchen” and everything was cooked in large pots
over a camp fire. They also found blue tents for us to sleep in
and even had mattresses and comforters.
After dinner everyone seemed to enjoy the evening. Children played tag. Parents
pushed toddlers around in strollers. Although basically living in a refuge camp,
sprits were good. I think at this point they all just realized they were lucky
to be alive.
Several communal recreation tents were set up and with the help of generators
and lights were available. The NBC team entertained a large group of kids with
DVDs played on laptop computers.
Although generators were available, the lack of gasoline posed
a major problem. The one gas station between the town and the Center
was destroyed by a rock slide. Now, as a result, even gas must
be trucked for vehicles and the generators. Getting back and forth
from the camp to the Center became more difficult and costly.
So after a long day, I made my way to our blue tent and sat in
the quite overwhelmed with what I had seen in the last several
hours. The Chinese people had been wonderful and though enduring
great personal hardship, they were still kind and gracious to visitors.
Lots of the initial devastation had been cleaned up, but destruction
was still very evident. The dedication of the staff to the pandas
never wavered, even when their own personal safety was uncertain.
The damage was similar to that of a tornado, with one panda enclosure
destroyed and the one right next completely untouched.
What would be come of this beautiful valley which was home to the pandas we all
love? Where would the staff who have become friends, and in some cases like family,
go now? On my first visit to Wolong in 1999, I described it as a magical experience.
I wondered if that magic would ever return.
As I fell asleep, I knew there was great uncertainty ahead for the people of
Wolong Town, the Center, and the pandas we all love.
Pandas International is accepting memorial donations in memory of Mao Mao for
use in the rebuilding efforts. To make a tax-deductible contribution, please
send checks payable to Pandas International at P.O. Box 620335 , Littleton ,
Colorado 80162 , or view daily updates and donate online at www.pandasinternational.org.
Next segment: Second Day at Wolong
See previous segments:
Journey
to Wolong — Getting There >>
Beginning
at the End >>
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Visual
updates:
Interactive
map of the earthquake region and panda reserve >>
Newsweek
Article: "China Earthquake — Animal Instinct" >>
News Cast in Chinese
This shows cubs being put in cages, drinking milk,
repairs being made as well as overall view of Wolong Panda
Centre. Later in the video, the 8 Olympic pandas are shown
being transported to the truck
to be sent to Chengdu and a temporary path to the bridge. In
the second half of the video, the female reporter, talks about the situation
in Wolong as a whole, including the people having to live in
the tents for at least
another 6 months. She also reported about how Wolong Panda
Centre has frozen all requests from its staff to go home and
see their families (many of
them are not local and from elsewhere in the country) as they
are needed to stay and help the villagers. The staff at Wolong
is extremely dedicated.
Click here to view >>
Reuters story with good scientific information about the earthquake:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSYD7250120080529
You Tube put together by a Panda Friend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsVe6LC6imo
Early photos of earthquake by Heng Yi:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bartyork/sets/72157605116803966
Recent
updates:
May
12, 2008 >>
May
13, 2008 >>
May
14, 2008 >>
May
15, 2008 >>
May
16, 2008 >>
May
19, 2008 >>
May
20, 2008 >>
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