CHINA: Sichuan universities hit by quake

In the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake, with casualties in the tens of thousands and rising, some local universities have mobilised to assist recovery efforts, while others require aid themselves. University activities in the disaster area remain suspended, and the number of teachers and students from the province's universities injured or killed has yet to be determined.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by poor weather and blocked roads, with the army forced to airdrop supplies and troops into the worst-hit areas.

On the day of the earthquake, Sichuan University, the largest in the province and situated in the city of Chengdu, evacuated teachers and students from campus and enacted prepared emergency measures to prevent dangerous chemical leaks from science department facilities, state news agency Xinhua reported.

At the same time, the university's Huaxi hospital sent medical staff with six ambulances to Wenchuan, at the epicentre of the quake, while a 30-member rescue team of teachers and students was despatched to nearby affected areas.

On the evening of the earthquake, the Sichuan Provincial Education Office sent work teams to all affected schools, and began coordination of medical teams from the Chengdu School of Medicine and, unusually, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province and home to more than three million people and most of the province's universities, has emerged comparatively unscathed. Other areas, largely to the north of the city, have not been so lucky.

Sichuan Vocational and Technical Institute, Neusoft Institute of Information Technology, Sichuan Water Conservancy Vocational and Technical Institute, and the Dujiangyan Trade and Industry Vocational School, close to the epicentre, were hit hard.

A consortium of provincial higher education institutes, including Southwest Jiaotong University and Southwest University of Finance and Economics, sent food and drinking water to students and staff there.

A number of deaths were reported at Chengdu University, where a large fire broke out as a result of the earthquake. A correspondent for Taiwan's NOW News reported scenes of people covered in white ash, fleeing dormitories for open ground before realising that some remained trapped inside. Lacking fire-fighting equipment, the survivors were powerless to help.

michael.delaney@uw-news.com