April 19th, 2010
02:13 PM ET

China quake death toll rises to nearly 2,000

Chinese soldiers help clear the rubble from an earthquake in the Qinghai province.

[Updated at 2:13 p.m.] The death toll from last week's 6.9-magnitude earthquake in northwest China has risen to 2,039, state media said late Monday.

Another 195 people were still missing, the state-run Xinhua news agency said, citing rescue headquarters.

It added that 12,135 people were injured, of whom 1,434 were in serious condition.

Since the quake struck the country's Tibetan region, rescuers have been working round the clock to find survivors and pull them from the rubble.

The earthquake toppled about 15,000 homes in and around the impoverished county of Yushu, and caused more than 100,000 people to flee the area.

Qinghai province is home to about 5 million people and is considered a gateway to Himalayan Tibet.

About half its people are Han Chinese, but the area is home to more than 40 ethnic groups, including Tibetans, Hui and Mongols.

[Posted at 6:40 a.m.] The death toll from last week's 6.9-magnitude earthquake in northwest China has risen to 1,944, state media said Monday.

An additional 12,315 were injured in the quake Wednesday in Qinghai province.

Of the injured, 1,134 are in serious condition, the Xinhua news agency said.

Since the quake struck the country's Tibetan region, rescuers have been working around the clock to pull survivors from the rubble.

The earthquake toppled about 15,000 homes in and around the impoverished county of Yushu, and caused more than 100,000 people to flee the area.

Qinghai province is home to about 5 million people and is considered a gateway to Himalayan Tibet.

About half its people are Han Chinese, but the area is home to more than 40 ethnic groupings, including Tibetans, Hui and Mongols.

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Filed under: China • Earthquake • World
soundoff (73 Responses)
  1. brinda

    interesting obama, you said your gonna change american, and make everything "better", but its not only us who need help other countries are reaching out there hands praising you, the main "in charge" of america, the man whom we all depend on just too help them out.

    April 19, 2010 at 4:53 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Swiss shepherd

    Lets not bring any dirty Politics in this disaster , Please ;"`( People in need indeed)

    April 19, 2010 at 5:02 pm | Report abuse |
  3. TT

    Let we all pray. Let we all keep peace, let Dalai Lama go to Qinghai to fulfill the wishes of many of the people there and to confort the victims families. Chinese government let respect the Tibetan people's wish and concern. They don't need sweet talks and grandfather. They just need freedom of religions, freedom of speech, and human right.

    April 19, 2010 at 5:12 pm | Report abuse |
  4. noxas

    If Chinese govt. does not care, they should not helped the Tibetans & let them rot instead. Just few hours of earthquake they r there helping already. They are fast but still not enough. Many already died or injured. If the Chinese troops are ruthless they should NOT be there at all to help. But somehow it is all the contrary. The one that helps Tibetan the fastest & with the most money, equipment, & sacrifice of men power is by far and so far only Chinese govt. Not other countries or other orgs. Even the Dalai only offer CHEAP talk of condolences. Just criticizing the helper will not help the victims and sounds sooo hypocritical. Need 2 help the Tibetan with real help & way surpass Chinese help.

    April 19, 2010 at 5:23 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Mimi G of Toronto

    You are so correct Swiss shepherd, however, sadly it is China who is playing the cruel and dirty politics here. As Josh Schrei reported in the Hufington post on April 15, 2010 saying: "A tragedy is, of course, a tragedy, beyond any political and historical squabbling. Both the political and historical backdrop to this horrible quake is important, as it informs how events will take shape over the days to come."

    And as Lindsey Hilsum reported on World News Blog, the fact that this disaster took place in historic Tibet makes it not just a disaster, but an issue of extreme political sensitivity for China. This a region that does not look favorably on Chinese rule. It is a region that is widespread independence protests in 2008 Olympics. The last thing the Chinese government wants is to bring any international attention to this area or give the local people any further reason to protest.

    So now you can understand the helplessness and frustration the Tibetans in the free world are feeling because China is controlling exactly how the story of Jyekundo quake is told, issuing ban on reporters traveling to the region, and continually and relentlessly referring to the quake as the "China quake" and the victims as Chinese. China is playing dirty politics on the poor helpless Tibetans facing the horrible disaster.

    April 19, 2010 at 5:37 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Brenda

    We need more news coverage addressing the issues in Tibet but we tend to "forget" that China is a communist country and will lie about the tragedies and if we could send aid, I fear the Tibetan people would not receive it. Prayers and hope to all who suffer.

    April 19, 2010 at 5:38 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Please don't jump before you look

    It is heartbreaking that America has not had the same response or media coverage of the chinese earthquake victims as seen with the haitian earthquake victims. However, it is not wise to jump to conclusions in the assumption that America is largely to blame for this fact. In all likelihood, China does not want international aid to deal with this crisis due to the political unrest in the tibetan region. This likely also explains the chinese goverment reports of significantly less deaths than local are claiming. Therefore, before you are angry with America please ask if China has requested international aid from America and the rest of the world before you jump to conclusions. It is very likely that China does not want any foreign aid that involves military escorted aid or even foreign humanitiarian workers and foreign press. You are forgetting that China controls the media in China and most likely does not want and will not allow any foreign press on it's soil.

    April 19, 2010 at 5:49 pm | Report abuse |
  8. David

    It saddens me to see people still play politics over a grave disaster. Please open you heart and wallet for those Chinese people that are suffering.

    April 19, 2010 at 5:53 pm | Report abuse |
  9. yuck

    politics never will help china china so backwards on stuff its crazy .until a change of goverment which will never happen there china wont ask for much help in parts of there country due to poltics /unrest ect... what a very backward country if ask me...

    April 19, 2010 at 6:31 pm | Report abuse |
  10. some random dood

    hah, the tibetans can be glad, though, that the chinese count them as integral citizens and not as vermin, which is usually how the chinese rolls when this kind of thing happens. that these people is getting help at all from Beijing is probably due to a sense of responsibility, and not just to save face.

    April 20, 2010 at 6:57 am | Report abuse |
  11. JoJo

    The trend is getting closer and closer. A big one will take place, but where and when?. I am not an earthquake specialist, but the earth crust is getting softer and softer. And that Iceland eruption is no help either. We will have more earthquake and I believe is due to that volcanic eruption.

    April 20, 2010 at 2:20 pm | Report abuse |
  12. dZi_TibetCollection

    This article gives more reason that we all need to help with the Earthquake Relief. dZi_TibetCollection has raised over $2,000!! Please visit http://www.tibetcollection.com to find out about the many different ways you can help.

    May 4, 2010 at 4:05 pm | Report abuse |
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