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Kelsey Rodenbiker. The Effect On Schools. SICHUAN EARTHQUAKE 2008. Outline. Basic facts Effects on schools What happened Why they collapsed Hiding of the truth Lawsuits and tragedy Looking into the future. May 12, 2008.
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Kelsey Rodenbiker The Effect On Schools SICHUAN EARTHQUAKE 2008
Outline • Basic facts • Effects on schools • What happened • Why they collapsed • Hiding of the truth • Lawsuits and tragedy • Looking into the future
May 12, 2008 • The Earthquake’s epicenter was in Wenchuan County, or the Sichuan province • The earthquake was felt as far away as Beijing and Shanghai (both over 1,500 kilometers away)
May 12, 2008 • magnitude 7.9 • It was China’s deadliest earthquake since 1976
The earthquake happened less than 3 months before the 2008 Summer Olympics
Damage • Over 87,000 people were killed or missing after the earthquake • It left 4.8 million people homeless
National Symbol of China • The world famous Wolong Panda reserve was hit hard by the earthquake • Largest panda reserve in the world • The 86 Pandas were rattled but survived
Chinese Schools • The Chinese government estimates that over 7,000 inadequately engineered schools collapsed due to the earthquake • killed more than 19,000 children and professors
Chinese Schools • Some of the schools that collapsed may have been built before there were building codes in effect.
Chinese Schools • Many of the buildings were compromised when builders cut corners by replacing steel rods with thin iron wires, using fewer bricks, and using inferior grade cement. • This made it easier for them to collapse during the 7.9 magnitude earthquake
Juyuan Middle School • near Dujiangyan, south of the quake’s epicenter, there were nearly 900 students killed by the collapse of the school building. • teachers at the school told students to stay put as the school collapsed around them
Hiding the Truth • It was reported that the Chinese media, as ordered by the state, did not report the collapses of the schools • Teachers and citizens who spoke out were arrested
Hiding the Truth • Marches and sit-ins by grieving parents held in the months following the quake • Roads blocked by protesters • Protests were shut down by police • Parents detained
Lawsuits • Government promised strict punishment for poor construction • No one has been held accountable • Parents of Students killed have been pressing lawsuits against the Chinese government • All cases so far have been dismissed
Tragedy • One child policy • Many families lost their only child as a result of the earthquake • Parents given a £11,800 payout by the government to calm social unrest before the Olympic games
Tragedy • Government encouraged families who lost their only child to have another • many of the parents were unable to conceive another child. • Wang Ping, whose 16-year-old daughter was killed. "I'm 40. All our hopes were in our children. Now they're dead. Our future is dead, too."
Future Risk • Up to 20 million people in the Sichuan basin at risk of massive flooding in coming years • river beds are already two to three meters higher due to the increased amounts of sediment after the earthquake.
Future Risk • Increased sediment building up behind dams in Sichuan province • reservoirs then become useless for flood control or hydro-electric power generation • Massive power shortages expected in coming years
Sources • Cnn.com • BBC News • The Los Angeles Times • Associated Press • China Daily • Nation Public Radio • Medical News Today