A Catastrophic Natural Disaster

1. A terrible earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter magnitude scale, struck at 14:28 May 12, 2008 local time, with its epicenter located in Wenchuan County, Sichuan province of China A Catastrophic Natural Disaster • Its impact shattered more than ten provinces of China • Over 10 million people within 44 counties and cities in the Sichuan province suffered directly from this disaster • By May 18, 2008, a total of 32,477 were confirmed killed, 220,109 injured,… • By May 19, 2008, a total of 34,073 were confirmed killed, 245,108 injured,…

2. All of a sudden everything changed Wenchuan County used to be quite a beautiful place The earthquake changed it into a huge grave.

3. Their last smile in the world On May 11, 2008, the day before the earthquake, students in Beichuan High School were engaged in games and in high spirits, laughing and cheering for their teams. One day - it only took one day for everything to change. Their happiness had become history, some of their lives nonexistent.

4. The Saddest Scenes Lives devastated, children caught in the shattered ruins that were once their homes, their community. I don’t know a word deep enough to express my sorrow.

5. The Saddest Pictures They were just one step away from survival, desperately trying to carrying their childhood dreams and ambitions with them to adulthood.

6. Many students were still holding their pencils May they attend school happily in heaven!

7. COLDEST DATA Muyu High School: 275 students killed, 30 missing.

8. DEEP SORROWS A father crying his eyes out while holding the body of his 9-year-old son. A mother holding her daughter tightly, refusing to let go or accept the fact that her daughter is dead.

9. DEEP SORROWS Facing a field of corpses, this lady weeps bitterly. This mother, sitting beside the body of her son in a junior high school, is in agony for her loss.

10. DEEP SORROWS Despair, the most bitter sorrows from the bottom of their hearts

11. RESCUE ! A group of children seized by the ruins are waiting for help. A soldier trying to release a trapped child.

12. RESCUE ! A body carried out by a Chinese rescue team. A body carried out by a Japanese rescue team.

13. RESCUE! Heavy tools could not be transported because roads were too damaged. Many rescues had to be carried out by hand. A wounded child carried out of a collapsed building in Beichuan County, Sichuan Province.

14. RESCUE! May 13, 2008, a trapped girl waiting for help. Result: This girl was successfully rescued. A child, who lost his family, is being held by a rescue worker.

15. LOVE – The Final Respects Carefully, a mother washes her child’s face. A husband, insisting that his wife’s body not be left in the ruins, bounded her to himself and transported her to the local dead house for her final honour.

16. LOVE – Lets us worry about each other A couple crying tears of happiness and bittersweet sorrows when they found each other alive. This villager, sitting on his collapsed house, is racked with despair. Three of his family members are still missing.

17. LOVE – Lets us rescue each other Survivors helping a teenager whose leg had been trapped underneath heavy concrete. On May 13, in Beichuan County, a high school student is helping his classmate who is trapped in the ruins.

18. LOVE – Lets us help each other In Zhang Juwan, an 11 year old boy walked with his sister on his back for 12 hours until they arrive at a safe place. People lined up on the streets of Beijing to donate their blood for the disaster victims.

19. LOVE – They can sacrifice themselves The mother was dead when she was found. Her body was distorted, covered by the rubbles of the collapsed building. She was kneeling with her two hands on the ground to support her bent upper body, as if trying to protect something underneath. After strenuous effort, rescuers made their way through the ruins and reached her. They found a 3-4 month old baby underneath the mother. He was asleep, and covered in a small quilt. He suffered no injuries due to his mother’s protection. When a doctor checked the baby, he also found a cell phone wrapped within the quilt. There was a message on the cell phone screen that was written by his mother when she was alive: “My Dear, if you can survive please remember, I love you!”.

20. LOVE – They can sacrifice themselves May 14, 2008, Zhang Guanrong is cleaning her husband’s body. When the earthquake struck, her husband (Tan Qianqiu) stretched himself over a class table to cover four students underneath. His sacrifice enabled the four students to survive. Zhang Guanrong could not hold her grief. “Darling, if there is an afterlife, I will still be your wife”

21. The Rescued This girl, with her legs broken and arms injured from the earthquake, still managed a childish, beautiful smile when she was rescued. Lang Zhen, a 3-year-old boy, insisting on raising his uninjured hand to demonstrate his gratitude to the rescuers.

22. LOVE – Lets us face the disaster together The victims will need help to rebuild their shattered lives. They need us to reach out to them and help them survive this tragedy and rebuild their lives, homes and communities that were taken so abruptly from them.

23. HOW TO DONATE through Canadian Red Cross for Sichuan Earthquake Relief (Eligible of Canadian Income Tax Credit) Online - Open https://www.paypaq.com/redcross/new/index.php , fill required information; in “Fund Designation” dropdown list, select “China Earthquake”. Tax receipt can be printed online THANK YOU for your kind contributions to the Sichuan earthquake relief!

24. For the people suffering from natural disasters This Power Point Created by: Robert Yi, PhD. hyi@dal.ca Edited by: Robert Yi, Tong Yi, Wanda Grandy, Anthony Kinh