Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Background
The 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, measured 8.0 on Richter scale, occurred at 2.28pm on May
12, 2008 in Sichuan Province of China, with its epicenter in Wenchuan County, which is 80
kilometers west-northwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. As of July 21, 2008, official figures
stated that 69,227 were confirmed dead, and 374,176 injured, with 18,222 listed as missing. It
was the deadliest earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake.
Donations flooded in from around the nation and overseas; volunteers and humane rescue
teams from different provinces and around the world gave their best efforts and fastest
response to help the affected inhabitants. Within less than 3 months' time after the Earthquake,
Lien Institute for the Environment (LIFE) and Lien Aid from Nanyang Technological University
(NTU) launched their projects in Sichuan. In one of the early projects, local schools affected by
the earthquake needed a cost effective way of making their buildings structurally safe, and the
structural repair and strengthening using method developed by LIFE could carried out faster and
was able to cut costs by 80%, compared to conventional rebuilding efforts. In another project,
the earthquake survivors living in resettlement camp needed a reliable supply of water during
the reconstruction period, and a mobile water purification system using reverse osmosis and
ultra filtration provided a medium term solution to the drinking and usage needs of the people in
the resettlement camp. The first project above-mentioned was completed in March this year,
and the second will be continued until September 2010.
Almost one year passed, others may have buried the tragedy in memories; for people who
live there and lost homes and families during the quake, however, it will be pain and sadness
that never fades out; and yet, reconstructions are still under process, which is also arduous and
long-lasting. This educational trip to Sichuan initiated by NTU CEE (Civil and Environmental
Engineering) students and organized by CEE Club and LIFE will be held in May 2009, which will
mark the one-year anniversary of the tragic earthquake.
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