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Miles still to go

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-19 07:29

We will never give up until the last moment is what we have heard most frequently from either State leaders or ordinary rescuers over the past week since the earthquake hit Sichuan province.

The hope of finding any survivor from the rubble is becoming slimmer and slimmer 72 hours after the quake, which is commonly believed to be the critical period for life-saving rescue efforts. But with the conviction of never giving up, rescuers continued to comb through the debris in the past two days and have saved more than 200 lives from the verge of death.

The fact that a woman who had been buried in the rubble for 127 hours was rescued by Russian rescuers suggests that unyielding will can sometimes work miracles, and unremitting efforts by rescuers make the difference between life and death for possible survivors.

We should never give up in our disaster relief and rescue efforts because both the direct and indirect damages that have been caused by an earthquake of such magnitude are quite complicated and their effects will possibly last for months or even years.

Immediately after the efforts to rescue survivors draw to a close, medical teams sent from all over the country will have to try their best to sterilize everything that may cause an epidemic and do so wherever an epidemic may break out.

Because of the frequent landslides in the mountains surrounding the epicenter, quite a number of reservoirs are posing increasing dangers and threatening to burst if more rains or aftershocks exacerbate the pressure on the already endangered dams.

They must be carefully monitored, and something must be done as soon as possible to discharge floodwater to relieve the pressure on critical dams before they are breached and cause even more damage to the already devastated quake victims.

Structures such as bridges, highways or private housing that have survived the quake also need to be examined before a plan is made to repair them or strengthen those that have been damaged in different degrees.

Psychological therapists may need to help victims overcome their trauma before they can regain their confidence in life and plunge themselves in the reconstruction of their homes.

With much more than what have been mentioned above waiting to be done, it will be a long time before we can heave a sigh of relief and say that we have made some headway.

(China Daily 05/19/2008 page9)