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Impact of 2008 Sichuan Earthquake on Chinese Schools: Tragedy and Future Risks

Explore how the Sichuan Earthquake devastated Chinese schools, leading to collapses, tragedies, and lawsuits. Discover the consequences and potential risks for the future.

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Impact of 2008 Sichuan Earthquake on Chinese Schools: Tragedy and Future Risks

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  1. Kelsey Rodenbiker The Effect On Schools SICHUAN EARTHQUAKE 2008

  2. Outline • Basic facts • Effects on schools • What happened • Why they collapsed • Hiding of the truth • Lawsuits and tragedy • Looking into the future

  3. 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)

  4. May 12, 2008 • magnitude 7.9 • It was China’s deadliest earthquake since 1976

  5. The earthquake happened less than 3 months before the 2008 Summer Olympics

  6. Damage • Over 87,000 people were killed or missing after the earthquake • It left 4.8 million people homeless

  7. 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

  8. Effects of the Earthquake on Chinese Schools

  9. 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

  10. Chinese Schools • Some of the schools that collapsed may have been built before there were building codes in effect.

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. 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

  14. 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

  15. 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

  16. 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

  17. 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."

  18. 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.

  19. 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

  20. Sources • Cnn.com • BBC News • The Los Angeles Times • Associated Press • China Daily • Nation Public Radio • Medical News Today

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