DHARAMSHALA, August 16: Chinese state run media said around 48000 houses have been destructed, over a hundred kilometres of road damaged and 87 people injured after an earthquake measuring 6.1 hit Tibet’s Chamdo region on Monday. 570,000 people have been affected by the quake if Chinese media reports are anything to go by.
More than 100 km of roads linking villages in Ringo, a mountainous town located at the epicenter of a quake, were damaged, affecting more than 3,400 villagers, according to Wei Huakui, deputy engineer-in-chief of the armed police team responsible for repairing the roads.
“With the roads cleared, relief supplies can be delivered to those in need,” claims Wei.
However, exile Tibetans find it hard to digest statistics “propagated” by the state run Chinese media. Tsering Logah, a Tibetan born in Chamdo and now in exile living here said that China has manipulated statistics of casualties and rescue operations in the past calamities in Sichuan and other areas. “They say today that 48000 houses have been damaged, and not a single casualty. It’s hard to believe,” he said.
“China tries to project to the outside world that maximim material damage has been done due to a calamity and their glorified rescue operations.”
China’s state run media says there has been no deaths but the tremor has destroyed houses, highways, bridges and some water conservancy facilities.
Pointing to his computer screen, Logah shows the Chinese state run Xinhua ‘s pictures of local Tibetans busy with their daily chores, children playing, cattles grazing and a Tibetan woman wearing a shining pearl necklace and neat traditional dress. “You think this is how one would look after 6.1 magnitude eqrthquake?”
Traffic is expected to resume in the affected areas as rescuers have cleared most of the roads and the Ministry of Civil Affairs has sent a shipment of quake relief supplies, says Chinese official media.
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit Tibet’s Zogang County and Markham County in Chamdo, on Monday morning around 5.23 AM (local time).
