Not long after the horrific typhoon in Burma, I still call it such, a massive eathquake has hit south-western China killing 8,500 at the current time. :(

I heard that a couple schools were hit. With the birth restrictions, I wonder how many family lines will come to an abrupt end with that tragedy?

Sometimes I wonder if this isn't Mother Earth getting back at us for disrespecting the enviroment... :(

I wouldn't put it so poetically, but there is good reason to believe that our activities as humans can affect the environment. The Dust Bowl in the U.S. comes to mind.

Whatever the causes of the weather tragedies in Burma/Myanmar, China, the U.S. and elsewhere, my prayers go out to those affected and I hope that sufficient aid reaches them soon.

I heard that the IOC is sending Aid to the affected regions in China...

Deathmage: I like Brian Griffin's line from Family guy better: "God is pissed!"

Latest report say death toll tops 15,000. :(

Good to know that even though the world's pissed at China for general Tibetan dickery, people aren't shy about sending aid relief.

i think the reason that we dont see the level of aid going chinas way that was sent to burma is due to the sheer size of china. they are able to soak up a disaster of this size without it having that bad of an impact on their economy even though the loss of life may be worse(less in numbers but much worse in number of family lines wiped out)

Possibly, but it would still help to send as much aid as possible. I doubt countries, even fairly large ones, can adequately plan for such large-scale emergencies, and a little aid 2 days after the disaster is better than a lot 2 months after it. Also, so to say, "sharing is caring" - it's good for relations with the neighbors, which is one of the reasons I'm glad China allowed international aid from its neighbors, including Japan. Hopefully the casualties are more or less minimized from now on - I've heard forecasts for up to 50,000 deaths - and architects take into account seismic activity. A few years ago, there was a series of poweful earthquakes in the Asian part of Turkey, whose impact was amplified by the shoddy, on-the-cheap construction practices that were used in many towns in that region.

May the dead rest in peace, and the living be comforted.

Also, China has more of an infrastructure in place to get aid where it's needed. They are also getting ready to host the world, so they can't getr away with the crap that Burma is accused of when the eyes of the world are upon them...

So did any of you donate?
I donated $20. Was reading the papers, and might donate more.

The worst part about is that I believe many people were forced to watch (hear) their friends and family die because there weren't enough manpower to save them from the rubble.

Also, I saw on the papers that a nearby dam might collapse, thus sending water down onto the earthquaked area, and therefore killing any survivors still present.

And finally, apparently some seismologists already predicted this, but officials ignored the warning. Millions of toad migrated before the incident, which were also ignored.

If the death toll continues to go up, the Chinese will lose the equivalent to an entire generation, says the News.

An entire generation of people. So much death in such a small space of time. It's a real tragedy.

I donate 20€ every month, plus my time and efforts to get people donate a little more...

A wee update:
Controversies are beginning to arise that the Chinese government in fact KNEW about the earthquake, but did not bother to give warning to "common people". Apparently, military plants and nuclear-related stuff were shut down a week or so before the event, and children from rich schools were evacuated.

Incidentally, a seismologist have in fact predicted the earthquake far before the event, including when and where it will hit, but he was ignored.

Finally, the earthquake have weakened the nearby dam, and if that collapses then the ex-town will be flooded, killing any possible survivors and washing away the remainder of the city.

Things aren't going well for China, is it? I read on Chinese papers that there's starting to be revolution-y parades in Hong Kong about anti-Communism. Perhaps history shall repeat itself after all; and yet another revolution will overthrow the Chinese government.

Yeah I knew someone who was there at that specific place and specific time. But he didn't have any injuries. He stayed for weeks helping the needy though.