7.9 Earthquake In China

Nearly 19,000 Buried Alive in Town Near China Quake's Epicenter



May 13: Local residents work to clear away debris from a collapsed building in Mianzhu City, southwest China's Sichuan Province.


May 13: Local residents work to clear away debris from a collapsed building in Mianzhu City, southwest China's Sichuan Province.


Rescue workers sifted through tangled debris of toppled schools and homes Tuesday for nearly 19,000 victims buried or missing after China's worst earthquake in three decades, where the death toll soared to more than 12,000 people in the hardest-hit province alone, state media reported.



Hope that many survivors would be found was fleeting. Only 58 people were extricated from demolished buildings across the quake area so far, China Seismological Bureau spokesman Zhang Hongwei told the official Xinhua News Agency. In one county, 80 percent of the buildings had been destroyed.



Myanmar: Senior Red Cross Red Crescent aid worker returns from devastated delta

13 May 2008


The situation in Myanmar’s cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy delta is “overwhelming” according to Bridget Gardner, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ head of delegation who returned to Yangon today following a two day assessment visit. Ms Gardner was the first international aid official to visit the disaster zone with official permission.





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International Red Cross Red Crescent



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Catholic Relief Services (CRS - USCC)


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Catholic Relief Services was founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and disadvantaged outside the country. Working through local offices and an extensive network of partners, CRS operates on 5 continents and in over 90 countries.



Doctors Without Borders


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Doctors Without Borders delivers medical help to populations endangered by war, civil strife, epidemics or natural disasters. Each year over 2,000 volunteer doctors representing 45 nationalities work worldwide in front-line hospitals, refugee camps, disaster sites, towns and villages providing primary health care, performing surgery, vaccinating children, operating emergency nutrition and sanitation programs and training local medical staff.






International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

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The ICRC, independent of all governments and international organisations, endeavours to promote international humanitarian law and the fundamental human values underlying that law. The ICRC was founded by Geneva citizens in 1863 and has its headquarters in Geneva.



United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

The UNHCR provides protection and assistance to the world's refugees. Today, the UNHCR is one of the world's principal humanitarian agencies, with headquarters in Geneva, and offices in some 115 countries. More than 80 percent of UNHCR's 5,000-member staff work in the field, often in isolated, dangerous and difficult conditions. The UNHCR has twice been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work.



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The focal point for the activities of the United Nations in the field of human rights is located in Geneva at the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).



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