6. Field Survey on Sichuan Earthquake
The Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), incooperation with the Disaster Reduction and HumanRenovation Institution (DRI), has investigated ways toutilize the lessons and experiences of the Great
Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake regarding the recovery andrestoration of disaster-stricken areas, to respond to theSichuan Province Earthquake that struck WenchuanCounty in China's Sichuan Province (GLIDE no.
EQ-2008-000062-CHN) on 12 May 2008. To conduct thisinvestigation, ADRC Senior Researchers Mr. Kenpei
Kojika and Mr. Shuhei Tanaka, and DRI Research FellowMr. Atsuo Takahashi spent 25-30 May visiting the cities ofDujiangyan and Mianzhu in the disaster-stricken area.
Their objective was to assess the situation on the groundand to share information with officials from the Sichuan
Provincial People’s Government, the China Earthquake
Administration, and the National Disaster Reduction
Center (NDRC) of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

(1) Situation Report

Fig. 6 Survey Area
In Chengdu City, the provincial capital of Sichuan,buildings and other structures sustained little damage. Shops are open as usual, and just two weeks
after the earthquake, citizens are going about their everyday business. About 60 km from Chengdu,
however, lies Dujiangyan City, a
popular tourist destination registered on
the World's Heritage List. Many of thiscity's buildings have been damaged, andthe shops are closed. In Juyuan Town(outside of Dujiangyan City), relatively
few buildings were destroyed, but
residents have been sleeping outside intents due to fears about returning to theirhomes. Public tent villages andlarge-scale temporary housing units arebeing constructed at a feverish pitch, andthe speed of the government's responseis evident. Hanwang Town (outside ofMianzhu City), which is believed to lie
along the fault where this recentFig. 6 Hanwang Town Government Office was totally
earthquake occurred, sustained
collapsedcatastrophic damage, with manybuildings having collapsed. Even the Hanwang Town Administration Building was completelydestroyed. Recovery and reconstruction efforts will be difficult here. In Zhundao Town (outside of
Mianzhu City), a field hospital equipped with X-ray equipment has been opened, and a medicalsystem has been established to meet the needs of patients. The most seriously wounded victims whocannot be treated here are being sent by ambulance to hospitals in the city. Temporary schools havealso been established.
The attitudes of some victims reflect an understanding of the situation. "Under thesecircumstances, there is bound to be a shortage of supplies. The government is handling the situation
well, so we will continue to persevere." Others, however, are complaining. "There are no relief
supplies coming in and we are at a loss for what to do." It is difficult to secure baths, toilets, andwater, and there is a shortage of tents, blankets, medicines, and heavy construction equipment.
There has been little effort to address the emotional needs of victims who have lost family members.
With daytime temperatures exceeding 30°C, sanitation is an important issue, and government

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institutions are engaging in disease prevention efforts.
Several thousand volunteers, including students and other members of the community, havesigned up to help in Dujiangyan City. Private and corporate volunteers with experience addressing
issues of poverty and the environment have been active in the region, but they have primarily been
involved in getting supplies to victims. There is a particularly serious need to enlist volunteers withspecialized knowledge of mental health care issues.

(2) Government Response
According to Deputy Director Mr. Tang Hong of the Sichuan Province Foreign Affairs Office,
who is responsible for accepting relief supplies from overseas, more than 2,000 tons of supplies
have been received from 40 countries, and these are being delivered to victims under rigorouscontrols. Since blankets and other relief supplies were provided by Hyogo Prefecture, the Sichuanprovincial government responded to our team's visit and gifts of support with expressions ofgratitude to Governor Ido and the people of Hyogo Prefecture for their past and ongoing assistance.
A letter of gratitude was presented to ADRC Senior Researcher Mr. Tanaka, who is also an official
with the Hyogo prefectural government. The Sichuan provincial officials also expressed gratitude
for Japanese emergency response teams and medical teams, which arrived ahead of those fromother countries.
Vice Director Mr. Miao Chong-gang of the Earthquake Emergency Management Department
Response Command Center of the China Earthquake Administration explained that detailed
damage surveys are being conducted
on 1,000 buildings in thedisaster-stricken region and that
officials are getting started onefforts to review the seismic
intensity maps that stipulate thestandards for seismic-resistantdesign.
Deputy Director Mr. Fang
Zhiyong of the NDRCC says
authorities have been basing theirpost-quake response on theassumption that the death toll will be
about 60,000, saying "Our top
priorities at the moment areproviding medical care andFig. 6 Information Sharing with NDRCC
everyday living assistance to victims,
preventing disease, and building temporary housing. We are in the process of investigating more
specific recovery and restoration plans. We currently need about three million tents, but only
400,000 have thus far been supplied from domestic sources. As soon as they can be produced, they
will be shipped to the disaster-stricken areas." He explained that three million temporary housing
units are needed, and that this need will be met domestically by assigning specific disaster-stricken
areas to economically wealthier coastal provinces that can provide support. He also expressedgratitude for our visit and our willingness to cooperate based on our interest in large earthquakes
and our experiences and lessons learned from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.
With regard to the formulation of a recovery and restoration plan, we learned from Professor Gu
Linsheng of Tsinghua University's Emergency Management Research Center that the central
government has divided the disaster-stricken region into four areas, and government agencies willbe working together with academic institutions to formulate recovery plans for each area within thenext three months. Professor Gu has already summarized the issues that need to be addressed in therestoration plan, based on information gleaned from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and haspresented that information to the government authorities. Grass-roots exchanges of volunteers withexperience helping out with large earthquakes are also expected to take place between Japan andChina(3) Conclusions
Multifaceted response efforts are underway in the regions visited during this survey with regard
to public evacuation shelters, field hospitals, medical care, disease prevention, temporary
elementary schools, temporary housing construction, and the revision of seismic resistancestandards. The experiences and lessons of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake can be used toprovide support for the recovery and restoration of the disaster-stricken region in the following
areas:- Advice regarding the formulation of earthquake restoration plans (within three months)- Management of temporary housing facilities and the maintenance of communities- Mental health care for victims- Industrial restoration- Repairs to cultural assets
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Chinese officials who madethemselves available to us during this challenging time, and to all of those who provided
cooperation and support for our efforts.

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