Death Toll Rises in China Quake as Rescuers Search for Survivors

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Official reports from the region in China hit by this week’s devastating 7.8 earthquake state that more than 22,000 people have been killed, with another 14,000 missing.

Other sources report the death toll at closer to 50,000, with an additional 160,000 reported injured. Millions of survivors are left homeless, and have had to find rudimentary shelters from the relentless rain that has been hitting the area.

A strong 5.5 aftershock hit the area on Friday, scaring residents and hampering rescue efforts.

But rescue workers have not given up, and have worked tirelessly to locate and rescue the survivors who are still being found alive more than 100 hours following the quake.

A young nurse was found buried under rubble at a clinic, and rescue workers toiled for eight hours to free her. She had been trapped for more than 96 hours.

There are other miracle stories like this one, as survivors are still being pulled from the debris. More than 30 people were rescued from the rubble Friday.

Unfortunately there are far more stories of families whose homes collapsed, who lost all of their loved ones, or every possession they owned.

"We've lost everything," said Pan Guihui to reporters, as he walked with hundreds of others from his village who were carrying small children and everything they could salvage. The weary villagers said they were walking to the more central town of Mianyang, hoping to find shelter, food, and hopefully contact loved ones. "There's nothing left of our village, nothing left of our home," said Guihui.

The government of China announced it has increased funds to help earthquake victims to $772 million. An additional $457 million has poured in from other countries, including the United States.

As offers of help have come in, rescue organizations say they need basic supplies the most, such as food and clean water. After that, said Elizabeth Burs, from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, "The most urgent needs are for tents and, unfortunately, for body bags."

The powerful aftershock that hit on Friday caused further damage as well as landslides, as rain-soaked hillsides simply collapsed.

China’s President Hu Jintao visited the worst-hit areas, and vowed to provide relief. Jintao is no doubt aware the whole world is watching, as China attempts to bolster its image for the upcoming Olympic Games.

Mostly, the living continue to look for their families, or try to deal with the enormity of having lost what is most precious to them, all in a matter of moments.

Wang Xiarong, who lost her only daughter in one of the many school collapses, talked to reporters at an overcrowded refugee camp. "My daughter has been dead for a few days. I still can't believe it is true. It is just so cruel. I don't even have a photograph of her. There is nothing of her left that could remind me of her."

While other refugees at the camp talked of returning to their villages to search for loved ones or collect what few belongings they had left, Wang did not want to go back.

"I don't want to see it ever again," she said. "I feel that if I were to walk into the mountains, the ground would still be shaking. It is a horrible feeling. I'd rather be a beggar somewhere else than return to my home. The shadow in my heart is just too strong."