Dingri copes with aftermath thanks to rescuers(5)

Task ahead

Sun Shihong, a researcher at China Earthquake Networks Center, told Beijing News that a 6.8-magnitude earthquake is not the strongest quake recorded in Xizang autonomous region. There are frequent earthquakes in the area due to the compression from the Indian plate to the Eurasian plate, he said.

Hao Nan, head of Zhuoming Disaster Information Service, a civil disaster relief volunteer group, told China Newsweek the earthquake occurred at 9 am Beijing time, which is about 7 am in Xizang, when many people were still in bed. Moreover, since the epicenter is in a remote area, it took rescuers more time to get to the victims.

Xu Xiwei, a professor at China University of Geosciences Beijing, said Xizang autonomous region is located on a plateau where it is extremely cold with low oxygen levels. It is easy for people living in lower altitude areas to suffer from altitude sickness while participating in rescue efforts. So it was important to engage the local population in rescue efforts, he said.