One month on, people-centered philosophy highlighted in NW China’s quake relief efforts-Xinhua

Volunteers make dumplings with villagers at a temporary relocation site in Caotan Village of Minhe Hui and Tu Autonomous County, Haidong City, northwest China’s Qinghai Province, Jan. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)

LANZHOU, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) — A month after an earthquake hit their hometown, Qin Sanhu and his wife, both in their 50s, are getting used to a new pattern of living in their new home — a prefab unit equipped with a stove.

“So far all is well. My biggest wish is that we can soon rebuild our hometown and move into new houses,” said Qin.

Qin lives in Bonan-Dongxiang-Salar Autonomous County of Jishishan, northwest China’s Gansu Province. A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck Jishishan on Dec. 18, 2023, leaving 151 people dead in Gansu and neighboring Qinghai Province.

Timing is everything in terms of saving lives, especially in the mountainous plateau area during winter. Within 16 hours, emergency rescue teams had completed the preliminary search and rescue in the epicenter county.

Since its winter season, construction workers are busy day and night building prefab houses so that residents impacted by the earthquake can move from tents to warmer structures as soon as possible.

In Jishishan, an 18-square-meter prefab house could be installed in roughly 10 minutes. With that speed, more than 3,500 prefab units were completed by 9 p.m. Dec. 23, and a total of 15,812 by Dec. 29.

A villager holds a baby at a temporary relocation site in Tuanjie Village of Liuji Township, Jishishan County, northwest China’s Gansu Province, Jan. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Fan Peishen)

“It only took two days for us to move from a tent to a warm prefab house. I was very relieved,” said Tao Yongping, a resident of Taojia Village in Liuji Township.

“Timely and swift relief measures were soon in place. We will ensure the safety of people and their properties by improving the emergency rescue efficiency,” said Han Zhengming, head of the provincial department of emergency management in Gansu.

After the earthquake, a large number of relief goods have been sent to Gansu and Qinghai to support the basic needs of those affected by the disaster. As for Qin, necessities such as toothpaste, washing powder, stove, as well as coal were allocated abundantly. “There is also a shared washing machine in the corridor,” Qin said.

Medical and material distribution points have also been set up for quake-affected residents at resettlement sites and so have temporary police offices, post offices and village committees.

Many quake-affected residents fought side by side with professional rescue teams, volunteering in rescuing, cooking and delivering materials. Many foreign volunteers also rushed to the quake-hit areas and participated in the rescue work.

“When my country was hit by the earthquake, China was among the first to extend a helping hand,” said Zein Alabdin Ali, adding that he regards China as his second home and would love to help with the earthquake relief work as much as possible.

Firefighters transport medicine at a temporary relocation site in Kexinmin Village of Dahejia Township, Jishishan County, northwest China’s Gansu Province, Jan. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Fan Peishen)

The Syrian doctoral student has lived in China for years, and arrived in the quake-hit area only two days after the quake.

In Shiyuan Village of Shiyuan Township, Chai Chengliang was busy distributing relief materials. “Seeing so many people from all around come to help us, we also pulled ourselves together and made our own efforts,” said Chai.

In Songjiagou village, Shi Cangyou and his wife have barely got over the huge trauma inflicted by the disaster. Shi’s house was badly damaged, and he had no choice but to tear it down.

“At that moment, I had a feeling that most of my life savings had been gone,” said Shi, with tears glistened in his eyes.

The quake has caused enormous damage to infrastructures and houses. According to the local government, the damage assessment has been completed. More than 300 post-disaster reconstruction projects have been proposed, including residential housing, fundamental public services, and traffic facilities.

Shi also moved into a prefab unit. The local government has allocated living materials including vegetables and coals for the family. “My house was damaged, but I have a place to live, food to eat and clothes to wear,” said Shi.

While Jishishan’s winter is too harsh to undertake large-scale construction projects, arrangements on facilitating people’s long-term needs such as dwelling and employment are steadily advanced.

According to the local disaster recovery and reconstruction headquarters, reconstruction and repair of damaged houses are underway, and a series of vocational training programs, such as electric soldering, bricklaying and housekeeping, have been introduced at resettlement sites for free.

Wu Zhilin, 36, signed up for the electric soldering and became a trainee. “I take eight classes per day, and have learned a lot of useful skills. My wife also signed up for housekeeping training.”

Planning to attend more training and then find a job, Wu has recovered from an initial period of distress and regained confidence in restarting his life.

The Spring Festival is less than a month away. At resettlement sites, residents have already pasted Spring couplets and hung out red lanterns.

As in previous years, Shi’s children and grandchildren will come home to celebrate the festival with them. Though it might be crowded in the prefab unit when they all come, Shi is very looking forward to the reunion.

“The Lunar New Year will be better than the last one. I believe we will move into our new home in the new year,” said Shi.  ■