At least 100 killed in large earthquake that struck Sichuan, China
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the Sichuan province of China on Saturday morning, killing at least 100 and leaving thousands injured.
Many buildings in the area have toppled and roads are blocked due to debris and landslides. The government has sent in search and rescue crew as well as medical officers to help those injured in the temblor. The epicentre is close to the devastating quake in 2008 that killed nearly 70,000 people and left 4.8 million people homeless.
"Save the Children responded to the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, providing life-saving aid and building baby care centres and classrooms for kindergarten children. A year later, we started a disaster preparedness and risk reduction program for families in Sichuan, working with teachers, students and communities to prepare for and reduce the impact of future disasters such as these," said Pia MacRae, country director for Save the Children in China.
"Save the Children's field office in Chengdu will assess the situation in Ya'an Prefecture where most of the damage has been recorded and will respond to the needs of affected children and their families accordingly. We are especially concerned about young children as they are always vulnerable in emergency situations with the possibility of being separated from their parents as they may not know where to go or what to do. Many aftershocks have been recorded and we are expecting more to come."
Save the Children has been working in China for two decades, responding to over 17 disasters in that time, such as the 2010 Yushu earthquake and 2008 Sichuan earthquake; and more recently the 2012 twin earthquakes in Yiliang and Zhaoyang Counties (Yunnan Province).
Save the Children has spokespeople available for interviews.