DEADLY EARTHQUAKE IN CHINA

A deadly 7.9-magnitude quake happened at about 2:28 p.m. Monday (6:28 a.m. GMT), May 12th, it was the largest the region has seen since 1976. And a string of nearly 30 seismic jolts hit the province in the first 24 hours following major quake. All of those quakes were magnitude 4.0 and above. The death toll is over 12,000 now, and still growing. Millions of homes destroyed, thousands of people still burried under the rubbles. Like that's not enough, the weather was just not cooperating, heavy rain slowed down the rescue teams, mud slide and destroyed road blocked outside relief, derailed and burning train cut the railway, strong wind grounded the helicopters and military paratroopers. This quake was so massive, the effects could be felt across the country and beyond. In Beijing, 1,500 km away from the epicenter, buildings swayed and office workers poured out onto the streets. Tremors were also reported in Bangkok, Hanoi and Taipei.

I have been following the news on TV and online, and let me tell you, I cannot stop my tears. Dead bodies lined up on the ground, kids burried in their school and discovered dead next to their teachers, people crying and searching for their family members, thousands of people injuried and covered in blood slept on the street without tent or any covering, ... It's just bloody everywhere. Yet in such chaos, you still can see hope. People are helping each other, holding strangers by hand, taking care of the injuried. In a hospital yard, women held their hands and stood in circle, trying to give the woman in labor a little bit privacy.

My family has been through this before. I lost several family members in 1976 TangShan quake, including my grandfather and a cousin. My sister was there with our family, me and my parents were in another city where the damages were not as bad. My dad got so worried, and since there were no train or bus available, he biked there on the debris covered roads. That was 4 HOUR train ride away! I don't know how he did it, but I can totally understand why he did it. So, to everyone here in US, even if you are not chinese, or you are a chinese but your family not from that area, please find a way to help out. Those poor people desperately need food, clean water, clothes, tents, and medical attention. Please find a way to donate something! THANK YOU!