In memory of Sichuan quake victims

The word “Sichuan” conjures up images of giant pandas and fiery hotpot for many foreigners.

Unfortunately, Southwest China’s Sichuan province has also been in the news for a third reason — seismic activity.

A 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck the province in May 2008, killing nearly 70,000 people and injuring thousands of others. The deadliest in the country in decades, it left millions homeless. The aftershocks were felt for months in the province and nearby areas.

I learned about the disaster from the media barely days into my stay in Colombo at the time.

Later in Sri Lanka, I saw a railroad from which a passenger train had been uprooted while in motion during the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. Shimmering in the coastal sun, the broken track on the outskirts of Galle town appeared (to me) as a reminder of both the power of nature and the ensuing human helplessness.

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan on the night of Aug 8. Chinese media put the fatalities at 20 or so. More than 250 people were injured, including tourists. Last week, some of the injured were still in serious condition and some others were feared buried under the rubble.

Jiuzhaigou county — the quake’s epicenter — is a popular tourist spot in the province’s north. And while the emergency response seemed quick, rescue teams carrying life detectors and other equipment faced difficulties owing to the disruption of electricity and communication lines in the mountainous area.

The China Earthquake Administration estimated the tremor was felt across 18,295 square kilometers, according to its website.

The following day, Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region experienced a smaller quake near the border with Kazakhstan, the United States Geological Survey said.

One of the world’s deadliest earthquakes is considered to have occurred in 1556 around present-day Shaanxi province in China. In 1976, an earthquake in North China’s Hebei province claimed a large number of lives, and is listed as one of the major quakes of the 20th century.

Predictability has always been a problem with earthquakes.

They come unannounced.

There’s little scientific evidence to suggest when they will strike. The maximum experts can do is tell us about “fault lines” — places at greater risk from tectonic movements.

The hilly city in India, where I grew up, lies in a similar area.

My childhood memories include waking up at different hours of the night due to frequent tremors. I also recall a neighbor who usually couldn’t decide whether to stay indoors or run out.

During one particular earthquake, I watched a part of the road in front of our house rupture, but what I remember scaring me the most back then was the rumble of that tremor.