EERI Special Report — October 2008

Learning from

The Wenchuan, Province, , Earthquake of May 12, 2008

A team sponsored by the Earth- Tectonic Setting school buildings that buried thou- quake Engineering Research Insti- sands of students and teachers. The M7.9 Wenchuan earthquake is tute (EERI) and the Geo-Engineer- the worst to strike China since the The earthquake originated on the ing Earthquake Reconnaissance M7.8 event of July 1976 , a northeastern- (GEER) Association carried out a that claimed an estimated 242,000 striking thrust fault that ruptured for field investigation in conjunction lives. The Wenchuan earthquake af- almost 300 kilometers (see Figure 1). with Chinese colleagues from Aug- fected more than 100,000 square The fault is the result of conver- ust 3-11 to document effects of the miles and about 30 million people, gence of crust from the high Tibet- May 12 earthquake. The EERI- causing 69,226 deaths (as of August an Plateau to the west, against the GEER team was invited by Profes- 21, 2008) and injuring almost 375,000 strong and stable crust block under- sor Zifa Wang, Director of the In- people. Almost 1.5 million people had lying the and south- stitute of Engineering Mechanics- to be relocated (Xinhua, 2008). The west China to the east. On a contin- China Earthquake Administration earthquake also destroyed more than ental scale, the seismicity of central (IEM-CEA). Professor Junwu Dai 216,000 buildings in Sichuan Prov- and eastern Asia is a result of of the IEM-CEA accompanied the ince, including approximately 6,900 team during the field investigation.

Under the leadership of Marshall Lew of MACTEC Engineering and Consulting in Los Angeles, the team included experts in structur- al, lifelines, and geotechnical engi- neering as well as in disaster re- sponse and recovery. EERI team members were David Friedman and Dennis Lau of Forell/Elsesser Engineers, Inc.; Laurie Johnson, urban planning consultant, San Francisco; Tricia Wachtendorf of the Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware, Newark; and Jian Zhao of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. The GEER team consisted of David Frost of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Savannah; J. P. Bardet of the University of Southern California; and Tong Qiu of Clarkson Univer- sity in Potsdam, New York. Obser- vations of other investigators who visited the earthquake-affected region have also been incorporated in this report.

The EERI field investigation was conducted as part of the Learning from Earthquakes Program with funding from the National Science Foundation under grant #CMMI- 0758529. Figure 1: Locations of Wenchuan earthquake May 12, 2008, mainshock and aftershocks through May 28, 2008 (U.S. Geological Survey, 2008).

1 EERI Special Earthquake Report — October 2008

buildings were considered Category C buildings, which is the same as regular buildings. Ground Motions: Strong ground motion was measured at about 200 stations established by the China Earthquake Administration. The strong motion time histories have not yet been made available to the research community, though three recordings were shown to the EERI- GEER team. One record obtained at a distance of 22 km from the epi- Figure 2: center and 1.0 km from the fault had Tectonic setting a peak ground acceleration (PGA) of the Wench- of around 957 gal and a duration uan earthquake of nearly 60 seconds. A recording (U.S. Geologi- made 88 km from the epicenter and cal Survey, 1.0 km from the fault had a PGA of 2008). 802 gal and shaking duration of 90 seconds. At 150 km from the epi- center and 75 km from the fault, a third recording showed a PGA of northward convergence of the August 1933 that caused over 6,800 550 gal and shaking of 150 seconds. against the Eurasian deaths, with another 2,500 people plate. This convergence is broadly perishing subsequently in the failure Geotechnical Effects accommodated by uplift of the of a “quake lake” dam created by an Asian highlands and by the motion earthquake-induced landslide. The Surface Faulting: The surface rup- of crustal material to the east, away average recurrence interval of the ture was about 270 km in length. from the uplifted Tibetan Plateau. Wenchuan earthquake has been es- The fault rupture cut through towns, Thus, India is moving northward timated to be in the general range of villages, and roads. The fault move- into central Asia and pushing Tibet 2,000 to 10,000 years by Burchfiel et ment was predominantly a reverse eastward, overriding the Sichuan al. (2008). thrust in the southwestern portion of basin. The tectonic setting is shown the rupture, becoming more strike- Because large earthquakes were in Figure 2. slip towards the northeast. At sev- rare before the May 12 event, basic eral locations, surface rupture with Previous earthquakes along the design levels in the Sichuan region 3-4 m of vertical offset was ob- northwestern margin of the Sichuan were established at Intensity VII served; at other locations not visited Basin include a M7.3 earthquake in (Modified Mercalli Scale). School by the team, vertical offsets as high

Figure 3: Surface fault rupture with 2 m vertical displace- Figure 4: Surface fault rupture with 5 m vertical displace- ment at Gaoyuan Village. ment at Shenxigou.

 EERI Special Earthquake Report — October 2008

Figure 6: Surface fault rupture contributed to failure of Gaoyuan Bridge; north abutment is to the left

slab to be thrust over the first span Figure 5: Surface rupture causing total collapse of build- of the bridge. In addition, part of the ings at Xiaoyudong. west wing wall of the abutment col- lapsed, along with some of the fill in terns of damage. These systems in- as 5.6 m were reported. Fault rup- the abutment. The movement was cluded buildings, roadways, bridges ture at Gaoyuan Village, north of large enough that the second span and utility lines. Generally, less dam- , is shown in Figure 3. became unseated at the center bent age was observed in structures on The fault rupture was reported by and fell to the ground below. CEA to be as much as 5 m vertical the footwall side of the fault than in and about 4.5 m vertical displace- similar structures on the hanging wall. Landslides: Numerous earthquake ment (Figure 4). Fault rupture caused Cases in which this pattern appeared induced landslides were observed collapse of many structures that not to hold true were typically re- as the team travelled through the were constructed over the fault solved as being due to complimen- mountainous terrain (Figure 7), an traces; as many of the buildings tary fault rupture, although rupture area that is historically known to be were of brick construction, total col- patterns were frequently difficult to prone to landslides and debris flows. lapse was very common (Figure 5). discern due to large variations in Evidence of historical events was elevation within short distances. abundant. Most of the new earth- Surface faulting caused extensive quake-induced slides were relatively Fault rupture damaged and caused damage to civil engineering sys- shallow, involving predominantly the collapse of several bridges, in- tems due to the shallow epicenter surficial soils, although the lateral cluding the Xiaoyudong Bridge, the and the length over which the rup- and vertical extents were significant. Baihua Bridge near Yingxiu, and the tured faults propagated to the There was evidence that some of Gaoyuan Bridge (Figure 6), a two- ground surface. In addition, signifi- these failed progressively. More lane traffic bridge with north and cant variations in terrain elevation in than 25 deeper and broader slides many areas where the fault rupture south abutments and three bents over each mobilized more than 10 million a river. The thrust fault rupture went reached the ground surface led to cubic meters of slide material, accord- through the north (left) abutment of significant complimentary ruptures ing to reports. The team members that produced more complex pat- the bridge and caused the approach

Figure 7: Landslides along the between Du- jiangyan and Hongkou. Figure 8: Longmenshan Town landslide.

 EERI Special Earthquake Report — October 2008

Figure 9: Rainfall triggered secondary mudflow in Peng- Figure 10: Resort hotel damaged by rockslide in Shenxi- zhou. gou.

visited the site of one of these large Mud Flows: Surficial soil and rock knees as they traversed it. slides, the Longmenshan Town land- loosened by the strong ground shak- slide, that buried a community of ing during the earthquake was prone Lateral Spreading: Strong ground more than 20 families, resulting in to form mud flows and, in fact, heavy shaking from the earthquake also 68 fatalities (Figure 8). rainfall at the time of the site visit trig- resulted in lateral spreading. Two gered secondary mudflows. One mud slopes with earthquake-induced lat- Large landslides along river valleys flow observed by the GEER/EERI eral movements were observed in formed “quake-lakes,” which subse- team members (Figure 9) took place Dujiangyan City. The first slope had quently threatened communities in during a heavy rainfall a 50-meter long fissure several me- downstream. Thirty-four landslide- on the evening of August 7, 2008. ters back from the edge of the slope. induced lakes have been reported, The mud flow was reported to have The open fissure was covered by with Tangjiashan quake-lake being lasted about 40 minutes and was ac- plastic sheet to prevent surface wat- the largest one. The China People’s companied by a loud “ground shak- er infiltration. The lateral movement Liberation Army deployed troops to ing” sound. At the time of the GEER/ of the slope was being monitored cut channels through the slide to EERI team visit the following day, the by several extensometers installed stop the rising water and reduce the mud flow had ceased, but the de- across the fissure. The second risk of a catastrophic failure of the bris—which consisted of boulders up slope had a 100-meter long crack landslide dam. Many of the ob- to 1.5 m in diameter, tree trunks up about 4-5 m from the edge of the served landslides occurred in slopes to 30 cm in diameter, and a sand/silt 5-6 m high slope adjacent to a river. having abrupt local unevenness, clay matrix with a very high moisture The fissure had a width of approxi- suggesting that local topography had content—was still in a very fluid state mately 5 cm and a smaller vertical an effect on observed performance. with low bearing capacity, as evi- offset of 1-2 cm. In general, engi- denced by individuals sinking to their neered slopes appeared to perform

Figure 11: Large boulders blocking roadway. Figure 12: Unreinforced brick bearing wall building.

 EERI Special Earthquake Report — October 2008

Figure 14: Collapsed upper stories above reinforced ground floor storefronts.

however, in many damaged struc- Figure 13: Collapsed four-story Xuankou Middle School tures the frame only supported the in Yinxiu. front half of the building with the well without any signs of damage ing wall buildings of 1-3 stories with back of the building supported by resulting from the earthquake. timber and shingle roof structure; (2) load bearing masonry walls. Figure reinforced concrete storefront on first 14 shows typical damage. The 1989 Rock Falls/Ejections: Numerous story with 2-3 stories of pure URM Chinese Building Code has very rock falls/ejections were observed bearing wall above; and (3) 3- to 7- specific provisions for this building throughout the mountainous terrain story mixed brick-concrete system type. area. In a number of cases, these (unreinforced brick infill shear [and Restrained brick buildings were typi- large rock blocks and boulders were some bearing] wall buildings known in cally long rectangular buildings up to several meters in size. Many the Chinese building code as “re- three to seven stories tall with pre- of these large projectiles appear to strained brick”). The URM bearing- cast hollow core plank floors and have been ejected and landed in wall buildings are frequently used for roofs bearing on reinforced con- their current positions. The largest housing in the rural and mountainous crete beams spanning to reinforced rock block observed during this trip areas, and the restrained brick build- concrete columns (see Figure 15). was estimated to weigh more than ings are found mostly in dense urban There is also a reinforced concrete 100 tons. These rock blocks/boul- areas such as Dujiangyan and Cheng- perimeter ring beam. It was ob- ders blocked highways and railroads du. Concrete moment frame buildings served that beam stirrups and col- in a number of cases and damaged are present, but are not as numerous umn ties were typically No. 3 unde- many buildings during the earth- as brick buildings in the regions most formed bars with a fairly wide spac- quake. Figures 10 and 11 show rock strongly affected by the earthquake. ing of 12 inches or greater (Figure falls that closed roads and damaged There are a few wood buildings, pri- 16). There was no positive connec- structures. marily limited to distant rural areas. tion of floor planks to the bearing The unreinforced brick bearing-wall beams or perimeter ring beam, ex- Structures buildings typically had precast hollow cept by bearing and friction contact. Much of the development in the core plank floors and roofs that bear These buildings typically appeared damaged region is located at the on transverse brick walls and longi- to be stronger in the longitudinal base of the steep-sided valleys; it tudinal perimeter walls with many direction than in the transverse is founded on the alluvial materials openings. As would be expected, this direction because the ground floors deposited by relatively fast-flowing type of building did not perform well in typically had open storefronts. The rivers. The resulting matrix of pre- the earthquake, and there were many performance of the building type dominantly boulders, cobbles, grav- catastrophic collapses (see Figures varied greatly from “life safe” (with el, and sand is not prone to settle- 12 and 13). Reportedly, many of the significant and perhaps unrepair- ment or bearing capacity problems older school buildings that collapsed able damage) to partial collapse and under the size or style of structures were 3-4 story pure URM buildings total collapse. There did seem to constructed in the region. Brick ma- without a reinforced first story. This be evidence of directionality effects sonry is the predominant type of building type was outlawed in the (strong forces in the direction of the construction in Sichuan Province. 1976 Chinese building code, but building’s “weak axis”) as well as many can still be found in rural areas. Three types of URM buildings were of orthogonal behavior (forces at a observed in the affected regions: Storefronts were frequently formed skewed angle to the principal build- (1) pure unreinforced masonry bear- using reinforced concrete frames; ing axes). This may have resulted

 EERI Special Earthquake Report — October 2008

1950s and 1960s. is supplied by water works compa- According to a survey nies, which are typically govern- by the Chinese Minis ment-owned but independently try of Water Res- operated. In the countryside and ources on May 25, remote areas, water sources are 2008, there were mostly spring water and wells. The 2380 dams under wells and spring water collection emergency situation systems are operated by townships, due to earthquake- village governments, or groups of induced damage, homeowners. Water used for drink- though 96% of them ing is always boiled (before and af- are considered small ter earthquakes), even water in the (reservoir volume cities, due to the uncertain sanitary less than 5 million condition of the distribution systems. Restrained brick building. Figure 15: cubic meters). In In the Metropolitan area, Sichuan Province alone, 69 dams water facilities were damaged in in torsional behavior, but it’s difficult were reported to be in danger of fail- many locations, but water service in to make engineering sense of this ing. No damage was reported at the small rural townships and villages given the lack of real floor and roof Three Gorges Dam that was located was severely damaged. It was re- rigid diaphragms. We observed approximately 600 km east of the ported that a water shortage affect- many ground floor collapses even epicenter. without soft-story storefront condi- ed about 690,000 people after the tions. Other observations of the While the GEER team was unable to earthquake in the area (which has a performance of this building type make detailed observations at any population of over 10 million). of the dam sites, limited scrutiny of include: building “ends” with severe Approximately 30,000 km of the the Zipingpu Dam area, located 17 damage, perhaps coinciding with pipelines were subjected to reason- km east of the epicenter, revealed stairwell construction; “end of block” ably strong ground motions (about some of the type of distress. The effects; and severe damage or PGA 0.10g or higher) and, as of 20 Zipingpu Dam is a 156-m-high rockfill partial collapse at zones of detailing days after the earthquake, about dam with a total reservoir volume of or material defect. Defects include 22,000 km of pipeline had service approximately 1.1 billion cubic meters poor ductile detailing, insufficient restored. Pumping plant building of water. The reservoir was drained concrete cover over reinforcing structures (presumed URMs) ap- in the days following the earthquake steel, improper size and shape of peared to be heavily damaged; due to safety concerns. High peak aggregate in concrete, quality of however, the pumps were typically accelerations were reported at the cement, and poor quality of brick. still functional. Crews installed steel crest of the dam. The crest is report- pipe bollards to protect the pumps Not as common in the Longmenshan ed to have settled about 0.7 m. Small from the falling debris of the sur- Mountain region, concrete moment lateral displacements on the order of rounding structures. According to frame buildings appeared to per- 10 cm were observed at the top of the reports, Chengdu Waterworks had form much better than adjacent parapet wall. The concrete slab at brick buildings; however, we did the crest of the dam settled approx- not have the opportunity to observe imately 5 cm with respect to the ac- many of them. Although it was noted cess road. One hundred fishermen that some concrete moment frame were reported to have been killed by buildings suffered from weak col- 10-m-high waves in Zipingpu reser- umn/strong beam behavior, there voir after the earthquake, although were some buildings that performed this fact was not independently veri- remarkably well, even when in close fied by the team members. These proximity to the fault rupture, such seiche waves may have resulted from as the newer building constructed in the combined effects of landslides 2007 at the Bailuzhen Middle entering into the reservoir and earth- School (Figure 17) and the middle quake shaking. school in Tongji. Dams: is rich in Lifelines hydropower. There are more than Water: There are mainly two types of Figure 16: Steel reinforcing and 7,000 dams in Sichuan Province, water supply systems in Sichuan pebble aggregate used in column of about 70% of which were built in the Province. In the major cities, water restrained brick building.

 EERI Special Earthquake Report — October 2008

agencies and the city government had to start a public campaign with all available means, including cell phone text messaging, to clear the rumor. The water pressure returned to normal in the afternoon. Electric Power: The earthquake in- terrupted the power system in most of the disaster area. Chengdu was the only city with no power outage. In general, the outage ranged from 10 to 20 days, with remote areas experiencing the longest outages due to the difficulty of access to repair the damage. Electric power generation plants, hydro and coal fire, sustained dam- age and remained out of service for 60 days after the earthquake. Many substations in the remote towns such as Yingxiu, Wenchuan, and Figure 17: Xuankou Middle School building in Bailuzhen with fault rupture in Beichuan were extensively dam- foreground. aged. The distribution and trans- mission systems were damaged by installed 6,500 meters of temporary was returned to the original location landslides and rock falls (Figure 18). piping by June 14 for distributing on June 20. Damage to pole-mounted trans- water to center locations of the The water works companies and the formers was also observed. temporary housing or tent encamp- military provided water to central lo- Telecommunications: The earth- ments. cations and temporary housing loca- quake interrupted both landline and Evidence of pipeline damage in- tions, such as disaster control centers wireless services in three ways: cluded broken cast iron and PVC and tent encampments. Temporary damage to equipment (Figure 19), water mains. Initial estimates that water treatment facilities were in- the distribution system, and electric consider ground shaking, landslide, stalled near the temporary housing power outages. In Hongkou, when fault offset, and liquefaction sug- to supply water to the distribution the ASCE/TCLEE team was there gest more than 2,000 damaged centers. Waterworks companies also 60 days after the earthquake, one buried water pipes requiring repair. distributed water disinfection pills of the wireless service providers The various building collapses throughout the towns and villages in was still out of service. would have caused many damaged the remote areas. In the mountain areas, people rely service laterals. From our observa- Two days after the earthquake, a ru- on wireless service as their primary tion, at least some of the elevated mor of water contamination due to a means of telecommunication. With cast-in-place concrete water tanks chemical explosion from a chemical prolonged electric power outage, performed well and remained func- factory at the water intake spread rap- the cell sites not damaged by the tional (leak tight). However, some of idly throughout Chengdu City. The earthquake ran out of reserve the water towers (assumed unrein- company received more than 1,900 power within 2-3 hours. Landslides forced masonry) sustained heavy phone calls on that day (compared to damaged many wired connections damage, ranging from outright 200 calls on normal days). Despite the between cell sites, resulting in collapse to severe damage (large x- company’s denial, the rumor caused failed incoming and outgoing calls cracks in the supporting structures). the city’s residents to start storing within the cell. An additional prob- The headquarters of the Chengdu water at home with pots and pans. lem was that the cellular phones Waterworks sustained some dam- The water system pressure suddenly ran out of power. Some merchants age, and the control room was tem- dropped to a dangerously low level. provided recharging services using porarily relocated from the fifth floor In order to avoid damage due to neg- a small power generator. ative pressure from the heavy water to the ground floor on May 20 in Repairing damage was extremely usage, the water system was shut response to the cracked walls and difficult due to major landslides and down for a short period. The water the aftershocks. The control room rock falls preventing access to the

 EERI Special Earthquake Report — October 2008

Figure 18: Power pole damaged by rocks along the road leading to Hongkou. Figure 19: A damaged cell site at Hongkou. damaged sites. Service providers were able to bring in material and heading for quake-hit areas were merous other reports that bridges personnel for repairs only after the ordered to turn back. By midnight on with simply supported spans were military cleared access to remote the day of the earthquake, a number unseated and collapsed (Figure 21). towns. Unfortunately, we did not get of trains from Chengdu heading for It was not uncommon to see im- access to any telecommunication , Wuchang, and provised systems constructed to service providers’ facility to obtain had resumed running, although about temporarily contend with the impact information on overall system per- 10,000 passengers were still stranded of the bridge collapse on community formance. at the Chengdu Railway Station. life. Engineers of new replacement bridges will want to consider higher Major highways and expressways in seismic input as well as larger dis- Transportation Systems Sichuan were closed, according to placements. Existing bridges should Approximately 30,000 miles of roads the Ministry of Transport. Transport be retrofitted to prevent unseating and railways, 3,000 bridges, 100 along the expressway linking Cheng- in future earthquakes; retrofit strate- tunnels, and many miles of retain- du to was halted. The gies used in California and the ing structures were damaged by roads linking Wenchuan to the city United States may be applicable. the earthquake. Losses to the trans- of Dujiangyan were damaged, block- portation sector exceed US$10 bil- ing disaster relief teams. Landslides Reports indicate that the lateral lion. On the day of the earthquake, also struck several highways in neigh- design for earthquake forces of 31 passenger trains and 149 cargo boring Province, but the na- bridges may not be sufficient given trains were stranded on lines link- tional highway linking it with Sichuan the ground motions of this earth- ing Chengdu with the rest of the Province remained in operation. The quake. Some bridges had damaged country. There were many land- Ministry of Transport was immediately shear keys at the abutments and slides, bridge collapses, and other engaged in repairing damaged roads ben caps when the strongest damage along rail tracks, and 34 to ensure that the quake-hit areas ground motions were in the trans- railway stations on the Baoji-Cheng- had access to goods for disaster verse direction. The Baihua Bridge du Railway lost power. A cargo relief. The ministry asked neighboring had damage to the transverse train on this railway caught fire in provinces to repair roads going into beams between the piers as well a tunnel near Huixian County in Sichuan. as flexural distress near the base of Province as the tunnel col- Many of the bridges in the Longmen- some of the bent piers. lapsed. shan region have bridge spans that The Railways Ministry dispatched are simply supported at the ends (see Chengdu Shuangliu International rescue teams and sent repair teams Figure 6). A single span of one of the Airport was temporarily closed, af- to check railway facilities in the re- approaches to the tall Minjiang Bridge fecting 169 inbound and 108 out- gion. All trains running in the dam- over the Zipingpu Reservoir became bound flights. Some facilities were aged area were ordered to halt in unseated and fell into the lake, as damaged, and the control tower and open areas, and passenger trains shown in Figure 20. There were nu- regional radar control were evacu-

 EERI Special Earthquake Report — October 2008 ated. The airport reopened on the the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. There passable, so local citizens had to evening of May 12, offering limited was some confusion on coordination perform search and rescue opera- service as a staging area for relief and overlapping of responsibilities, tions before government help operations. All airports in Sichuan but the response is considered well arrived. were reopened by the end of the done by many. day. In addition to these search and res- China’s 50-member State Council, cue efforts, a large number of civil After the earthquake, an enormous chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, society participants converged from effort was made to repair roads and quickly established an Earthquake unaffected areas to provide assis- railroads as quickly as possible. Rescue and Relief Headquarters that tance. For example, Chengdu taxi Fourteen days after the earthquake, has provided most of the principles drivers drove to nearby Dujiangyuan all roads into Chengdu were re- and priorities for restoring the liveli- when they heard about the many paired. By June 14, roads to 248 hoods and physical environment of people who did not have means to out of 254 towns in the damaged the 51 counties (cities and districts) in leave that area. Skilled personnel, area were repaired. Railways took the 132,596 km2 affected region and including counselors and nurses, a little longer, since they needed a its 20 million residents. Three-month came from other provinces, and smoother alignment and electric targets were established, heavily em- local doctors even trekked through power for their operation. Repairs phasizing the needs of survivors, as rough terrain to reach more remote will continue for many months and were an ambitious and comprehen- villages. Groups of foreigners based years. sive set of three-year goals to ensure in Chengdu rallied together to pro- that every family has a house, every vide assistance. Such convergence Emergency Response household has employment, every is typical following disaster events; person has social and medical care, however, many people we spoke The response to the massive earth- and the infrastructure, economy, and with described this heightened level quake was quick and decisive. Al- environment are all improved. of nongovernmental involvement as though no country is prepared for a unusual within the Chinese political natural disaster of this scale, the Nongovernmental organizations, com- and cultural context. We were told central China government rapidly munity groups, and volunteers—often that all relief supplies were supposed mobilized 130,000 soldiers of the referred to as civil society—played a to be directed to the Red Cross of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to significant role in the response, par- China or the Ministry of Civil Affairs, provide search and rescue, restore ticularly during the early days after but the first 10 days saw a number access, and maintain order. Other the disaster. Many of the initial search of alternative relief distribution strat- Chinese provinces and major cities and rescue efforts were undertaken egies employed. sent personnel, equipment, and re- by family members, neighbors, and sources to supplement the PLA and other local groups before formal as- Given that land and mobile phone local forces. In addition, many pri- sistance could arrive. For example, in coverage was disrupted in the dam- vate individuals and groups from all the town of Yingxiu, three-quarters of aged areas, the media played a ma- over China went to Sichuan Prov- the population were killed, and land- jor role in disseminating information ince to offer aid and support. For- slides made roads to the town im- about need, and their reports drove eign aid and personnel were also accepted by China, unlike during

Figure 20: Minjiang Bridge crossing over Zipingpu Res- Figure 21: After this bridge collapsed, people rigged up ervoir with one missing span. ropes and pulleys to get supplies over a river.

 EERI Special Earthquake Report — October 2008

the direction of many volunteer ef- Some organizations continue to have ed from other areas. Food in the forts. We were told that in the early a strong presence, particularly when camp we visited had been free until days of the response and recovery, they fill gaps in assistance provision just over a month after the disaster, towns with intense media attention for special needs. One such previ- but then residents were required received many donations, while ously established organization was to purchase their food from shops other towns lacked supplies. Half the Sky, which during routine inside or outside the camp. While Many private companies wanted periods provides services for China’s allowances were provided to vic- to donate to the reconstruction of orphaned children. Half the Sky main- tims, we were told that the govern- schools, an issue that received tained a presence within the tempo- ment assistance program would considerable attention given the rary resettlement camps to provide cease at the end of the summer. loss of so many school children. daycare, art and play therapy, coun- Camps provided training programs Alliances of nongovernmental or- seling, and a safe space within which and job searches for residents, and ganizations also served a very im- children could play. some residents took or created jobs portant role in the initial activities, within the camp itself. For example, in terms of both credentialing and Temporary Housing some worked in the training ses- needs identification. sions, others in sanitation roles, With the authority to redirect govern- and still others opened up laundry, As relief and, later, recovery efforts ment land and the people residing hair salon, and grocery businesses became possible, the role of many there, and to control commercial pro- (see Figure 23). Many of the tem- of the civil society groups became duction of materials, the government porary housing encampments in- smaller. Several people we spoke was able to establish an impressive clude temporary school facilities, with indicated that such groups had number of temporary camps around such as the elementary school in limited capacity to undertake larger the province quickly. We visited one Yingxiu shown in Figure 24. relief and recovery tasks. Others camp that was home to 12,000 peo- pointed to re-established govern- ple (see Figure 22). Construction We talked to some survivors who ment resistance to their involve- started on May 19, and the camp preferred not to take up residence ment—particularly on sensitive opened ten days later. Each unit in the resettlement camps. They issues such as those surrounding within the camp housed 3-4 people. were staying in much smaller tent school collapses or land rights. Furniture was provided through dona- camps or near the foundations of Resistance was also attributed to tions. While family members were their former homes (see Figure 25). concern on the part of local govern- assigned to the same unit, neighbors These people indicated that they ment officials not wanting to lose or even those families from within the had opted not to stay at the shelters control of operations. It was not same village were not necessarily because of their need to take care uncommon, we were told, for relief housed nearby, as units were select- of crops, the distance between the assistance from informal groups to ed on a first-come, first-served basis. camps and their original property, be politely refused by village offi- Camps had hospitals, pharmacies, the additional costs associated with cials or survivors themselves, re- and schools. residing at the camps (for some gardless of whether or not the food items and propane for cook- groups were locally, nationally, or While facilities were partially staffed ing), and their deep sense of attach- internationally based. Government with camp residents who had worked ment to place and community. concern over possible improper at similar facilities that had been financial expenditures on the part destroyed in the of some informal groups was yet earthquake, other another issue raised in some of our paid and volunteer conversations. staff were redirect-

Figure 23: Some camp residents opened up laundry, hair Figure 22: This temporary camp housed 12,000 people. salon, and grocery businesses.

10 EERI Special Earthquake Report — October 2008

Temporary tent home established near ruins Figure 24: Temporary elementary school in Yingxiu. Figure 25: of former home. Some survivors had rebuilt their Recovery general reconstruction plan was homes with scavenged or re- developed for the three affected The State Council took swift legisla- claimed material; others had simply provinces, as were ten specific tive action to establish a multi-govern- cleared the debris and created a plans covering urban systems, rural mental management framework for living space outside near the foun- development, urban-rural housing, the recovery effort. The “Wenchuan dation (Figure 26). infrastructure, public service facili- Earthquake Disaster Recovery and ties, productivity distribution and Some businesses had reopened in Reconstruction Act” (passed into law industrial restructuring, market ser- buildings of questionable structural on June 4, 2008) provides the legal vice system, disaster prevention and integrity that had been rudimentari- basis for various departments and mitigation, ecological rehabilitation, ly repaired. Several of these busi- government entities, both inside and and land utilization. ness owners indicated that they outside the quake-hit region, to assist completed the repairs themselves, with recovery and reconstruction. The These, in turn, were incorporated noting that their damage was not act specifies guiding principles for into a comprehensive reconstruc- severe enough to be a priority of damage assessment, temporary tion plan released for public review the government. We repeatedly housing, reconstruction planning, fi- on August 12. The “State Overall saw individuals taking the initiative nancing, implementation, and man- Planning for Post-Wenchuan Earth- to move forward in their own recov- agement. A special team on recon- quake Restoration and Reconstruc- ery efforts. At the same time, some struction planning was established to tion” groups the 51 disaster-affect- (although not all) of the rebuilt act on the planning principles, and ed counties into 3 categories— structures appeared to be of the the team has made dozens of trips to areas suitable for reconstruction, same hazardous type that had put the disaster-affected region to speak areas suitable for appropriate re- them at risk during the quake. with local officials and residents. A construction, and ecological recon- struction areas (with future growth limitations)—and sets the rebuilding and funding guidelines for each. The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s lead Figure 26: agency for urban plan development, Some home- is currently soliciting feedback on owners cleared the plan through outreach work- the debris and shops with international experts, adapted a living and setting up special websites for space outside comments at the NDRC, People’s near the Net and China Net. foundation. A central element of China’s post- disaster management framework is a pairing of affected with unaffect- ed regions to help provide the re- sources and funds for recovery and

11 EERI Special Earthquake Report — October 2008

reconstruction. The disaster-stricken less certain about environmental and References areas of Sichuan, Gansu and Shaan- hazard considerations. Some very xi provinces were divided into 24 dis- large encampments were observed Burchfiel, B.C., et al. (2008). “Ageo- tricts and matched with 24 localities in river floodplains and at the base of logical and geophysical context for across China. For example, the town steep slopes. the Wenchuan earthquake of 12 of Dujiangyan (within the adminis- May 2008, Sichuan, People’s Repub- Recovery will be a great challenge, trative boundaries of the city of lic of China,” GSA Today, v. 18, no. even with China’s strong economy. Chengdu) is sponsored by Shang- 7, July. According to Watts (2008), the re- hai. Similarly, Yingxiu’s sponsor is construction is estimated to have a Huang, Runqiu (2008). Presentation , Pengzhou’s is , cost of about 1 trillion yuan (US$147 on the Work of the State Key Lab ’s is , and Anxian’s billion). This amount is equivalent to for Geohazard Prevention following is . Each sponsoring locality one-fifth of the entire tax revenue of the Wenchuan Earthquake, Vice has been given work tasks, funding China for a single year. This will in- President/Director of State Key Lab, and resource assignments, as well clude providing new homes for 3.9 Chengdu University of Technology. as timeframes for their completion. million refugees, replacing schools, Their contributions include provision Iin, Qing (2008). Interview on and creating jobs for 1 million people. of human resources, “in kind” sup- Wenchuan rebuilding planning, Vice port from planning institutes and Rebuilding the infrastructure of the Dean/Professor, Faculty of Architec- other agencies within the sponsor mountain areas will be a challenge ture, Southwest Jiaotong University. region, provision of temporary hous- with the geologic and climatic condi- Massachusetts Institute of Technol- ing units, and donations and finan- tions, not to mention continuing seis- ogy Department of Earth, Atmo- cial support. Banners acknowledg- mic activity. One of the most pressing spheric, and Planetary Sciences ing the work of sponsor locations challenges is to ensure higher seis- (2008). “Earthquake near Wench- are visible across the disaster- mic standards and construction qual- uan, West Sichuan, China, 2008 affected region. ity in the rebuilding. The reconstruc- May 12 06:28:01 UTC; Magnitude tion plan calls for higher earthquake- As of August 25, the State Council 7.9,” http://quake.mit.edu/~changli/ resistance levels of infrastructure reports that nearly 1.5 million disas- wenchuan.html. construction in the quake-hit regions, ter-affected people have been relo- especially for schools and hospitals. National Reform and Development cated; about 180,000 have been or- In rural areas, reconstruction plan- Commission (2008). “The State ganized to work outside the disaster ners recommend that technicians Overall Planning for Post-Wench- zone and about 678,000 people advise residents on safe rebuilding, uan Earthquake Restoration and have found jobs in their hometowns but many villagers are moving ahead Reconstruction (Public Opinion (Xinhua, 2008). About 92% of the and reconstructing with a variety of Soliciting Draft).” 139,000 damaged business outlets traditional and recycled materials, had been reopened. Almost 663,000 U.S. Geological Survey (2008). particularly reclaimed bricks. temporary houses have been con- Poster of the Eastern Sichuan, structed and another 2,500 were be- China Earthquake, Magnitude 7.9, ing installed. Nearly all of the 53,295 Acknowledgments ftp://hazards.cr.usgs.gov/maps/ km of roads damaged by the earth- sigeqs/20080512/seismicitypgbb.pdf We appreciate the hospitality provided quake had been restored. by Professor Runqui Huang, State Watts, J. (2008). “Sichuan quake: Sponsoring localities have been ma- Key Lab for Geohazard Prevention, China’s earthquake reconstruction jor suppliers of the temporary hous- Chengdu University of Technology; to cost $150bn,” The Guardian, ing, and planning institutes from Professor Zhou, Southwest Jiao- August 15. http://www.guardian. sponsoring localities have volun- tong University; and their staffs. We co.uk/world/2008/aug/15/chi- teered to plan the temporary hous- also thank Professor Zeqin (Lisa) Li, naearthquake.china ing encampments, following the de- Chengdu University of Technology, for (2008). “China sign principles laid out by the cen- her generous translation assistance. Quake Death Toll Remains Un- tral government in the Wenchuan Additional information for this report changed at 69,226,” www.china- Earthquake Disaster Recovery and was provided by Ken Elwood, Mark view.cn, August 25. Reconstruction Act. The processes Yashinsky, John Eidinger, Moh for determining the number of units Huang, Alex Tang, David Lee, Eliza- needed and the site selections are beth Hausler, and Stephen Mahin. unclear. Local officials described Special thanks to Jenny F. Lew, site selections being determined whose help cannot be measured or based upon the availability of water, appreciated enough. electricity, and access, but were

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