Earthquake Update

Hello Everyone,

You have likely heard about the earthquake that struck China today. Everyone here in Jingzhou seems to be fine. We had tremors, but no damage here that we have heard about. Some of the folks felt the shaking and went outside. Evelyn and I were at a supermarket. She saw lights and hanging banners swaying, but felt nothing. I was in a different part of the store and saw and felt nothing. It wasn't until we got home and the Cook's called to make sure we were OK that we learned it was an earthquake.

The quake was hundreds of miles away in the western part of China where the population is much more scattered than in the eastern part. Still there appears to be massive damage and many dead, including a large number of school children in collapsed school buildings. The report below is the most recent report that I can find. I have included only short excerpts. More details are in the full article.

I expect to send the final China News Update from here in a few days. The one after that will come from the US as we will be back in the states by about June 18, perhaps a couple of days earlier if we can get the flights we need.

Pray for the people who lost loved ones and for the hundreds of thousands who will suffer from the loss of homes and work places. We will try to provide more information if anything significant is reported that we do not know yet.

Yours and His,

Ron & Evelyn

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/05/12/ap4997078.html

Death toll in China earthquake rises to 7,600
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN 05.12.08, 10:53 AM ET

BEIJING - A massive earthquake struck central China on Monday, killing more than 7,600 people and trapping nearly 900 students under the rubble of their school, state media reported.

The official Xinhua News Agency said 80 percent of the buildings had collapsed in Beichuan county in Sichuan province after the 7.8-magnitude quake, raising fears the overall death toll could increase sharply.

Xinhua cited the Sichuan provincial government as saying 7,651 people died, but the situation in at least two counties remain unclear.

The earthquake sent thousands of people rushing out of buildings and into the streets hundreds of miles away in Beijing and Shanghai. The temblor was felt as far away as Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand.

The earthquake hit less than three months before the start of the Beijing Summer Olympics, when China hopes to use to showcase its rise in the world.

It struck about 60 miles northwest of Chengdu in the middle of the afternoon when classrooms and office towers were full. There were several smaller aftershocks, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site.