The International Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) is a source of un-earmarked money created by the Federation in 1985 to ensure that immediate financial support is available for Red Cross and Red Crescent response to emergencies. The DREF is a vital part of the International Federation’s disaster response system and increases the ability of national societies to respond to disasters.

CHF 250,000 (USD 236,580 or EUR 153,355) has been allocated from the Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Red Cross Society of China in delivering immediate assistance to those affected by the earthquake in Sichuan province. Unearmarked funds to repay DREF are encouraged.

Summary:
A major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale jolted Wenchuan County, Aba Prefecture in southwest China’s Sichuan Province at 14.28 Beijing time (0628 GMT) on Monday, 12 May.Several lowerscale earthquakes followed in the same area, according to State Seismological Bureau of China.

Latest figures released by the Sichuan provincial disaster relief headquarters indicated that approximately 8,000 people are feared dead after the major earthquake in Beichuan, a nearby county of Wenchuan, and about 20,000 people were injured.

The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) local branches have started to provide emergency relief assistance. The RCSC headquarters and the International Federation’s regional office’s joint emergency assessment team are preparing to leave Beijing first thing in the morning on 13 May to go to Wenchuan to conduct an emergency assessment.

This operation is expected to be implemented over three months to support emergency relief, and will therefore be completed by August 2008. A Final Report will be made available three months after the end of the operation, by 30 November 2008.

The Situation
A major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale jolted Wenchuan County, Aba Prefecture in southwest China’s Sichuan Province at 0628 GMT (2:28 p.m local time) on Monday 12 May, causing several buildings to sway and residents rushing out into the streets. According to the U.S Geological Survey, the quake struck at a depth of 29 km, with the epicentre of the quake located at 31.104 degrees north latitude and 103.270 degrees east longitude.

Minutes later, at 2:35 p.m local time, an earthquake measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale jolted Tongzhou District in east Beijing. According to the State Seismological Bureau (SSB), the second quake’s epicentre was 39.8 north latitude and 116.8 east longitude. Tremors were felt as far as Bangkok, some 3,300 km away.

Initial reports are coming in of some casualties. Five people are confirmed dead in southwest China’s Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality after the earthquake toppled two school buildings and a water tower. Four students died in Chongqing’s outer Liangping County when the earthquake toppled the Wenhua Township primary school at about 2:30 p.m. At least 100 children were injured according to the local government. More than ten students were injured, two seriously, at the Central primary school of Lirang Township in Liangping County.

In neighbouring Sichuan Province, one death was reported after a water tower collapsed in Santai County, in the city of Mianyang. According to a spokesman for the provincial seismological bureau, more people were feared injured or dead in Sichuan as many houses had collapsed in Dujiangyan City, near the epicenter in Wenchuan County. In Aba, there has been one casualty reported so far and eight people injured.

Communication and road transportation has been totally cut off in Wenchuan, Lixian, Maoxian County of Aba prefecture. Chengdu Airport is closed at this moment. Most domestic flights now change to land in Chongqing. Collapsed houses, landslides and other damages were also reported in another seven counties in Aba. There are no signs that the earthquake had affected the Three Gorges dam.

It was report by China Central Television that the earthquake also affected Chongqing, Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Ningxia, Shangdong, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu and Shanghai Provinces/ Municipalities.
With a population of 111,800, Wenchuan lies in the southeast part of the Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba, 146 km northwest of Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan.

Wenchuan is home to the Tibetan and Qiang minorities and also home to the Wolong Nature Reserve, China’s leading research and breeding base for endangered giant pandas.

The National Disaster Contingency Plan has been mobilized and China’s Premier Wen Jia Bao is on his way to Wenchuan. The SSB has send out a 180-person emergency rescue team to Wenchuan. The Chinese Air Force has sent two helicopters to assist with relief work in the quake-stricken areas. The Chengdu Military Area Command has dispatched troops to help with disaster relief work in the earthquake-stricken area.

Red Cross and Red Crescent Action
Establishing communication with the local Red Cross in Wenchuan is difficult at the moment. Members of the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) and the International Federation’s regional disaster management coordinator in East Asia are on their way to Wenchuan for emergency assessment. Information will be updated on DMIS.

Contact information
For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:
• Red Cross Society of China: Mr. Wang Xiaohua, director of external relations department; email: rcsc@chineseredcross.org; phone: +86.10.6404.8366, fax +86.10.6402.9928.
• East Asia regional office in China: Mr. Carl Naucler, (head of regional office), email; carl.naucler@ifrc.org;
• Mr. Qinghui Gu (regional disaster management coordinator), email; qinghui.gu@ifrc.org; phone +86 1391 0959 834, fax+86-10-6532-7166.
• Federation zone office in Kuala Lumpur:
• Jagan Chapagain, deputy head of zone office, phone: +6012 2153765, email: jagan.chapagain@ifrc.org
• Jyri Rantanen, acting head of disaster management unit, phone: +6012 2206920, email: jyri.rantanen@finrc.fi
• Federation secretariat in Geneva: Christine South, operations coordinator Asia Pacific, phone: +41 22 730 4529; mobile: +41 79 308 9824; email: christine.south@ifrc.org