Twelve-year-old narrowly escapes as house collapses during quake

“I sat on the dirt floor in our shelter at night and did not want to get on bed or to even close my eyes, I was afraid it might happen again,” says 12-year-old Xiao Jie.

The tremor came suddenly. Xiao was just dressed to have breakfast. Her mother was preparing the food and her father was walking around in the house, working on his farming chores. Her 81-year-old grandmother was just sitting in her room. Like many other Saturday mornings, everything seemed so calm, so peaceful.

This Saturday morning was different. At 8:02, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck Xiao Jie’s hometown. Things began to fall within the house. The family panicked.   

Her mother picked up Xiao Jie her grandmother and together they rushed outside. A few seconds later, Xiao Jie watched as her house come tumbling down. Everything they owned was inside the rubble, they had barely survived.

“We would not have had a second chance if we had hesitated even for a bit,” Xiao Jie’s father says.

Now that they lost their house, like so many of their neighbours, they are sleeping outside in the hills. When the 20 April quake hit Sichuan province in China, at least 170 people were killed, more than 6,000 injured and some 245,000 people were made homeless after their houses – made of wood and earth – collapsed.

The tents that the government has been distributing have not yet reached them. Instead, they have created a makeshift shelter made of bamboo and are sleeping there. In the aftermath of the quake, three other families have joined them in the shelter.

The family has also been reminded of the horror of the quake as each aftershock hits. More than 2,000 have been recorded since the quake occurred.

The family has lost all their electric appliances and furniture. They don’t have anything to cook with, and are relying solely on relief supplies to eat.

“We have instant noodles every day for the past 2 days,” sighs Xiao Jie.

World Vision is supplying hygiene kits to Xiao and thousands of other survivors from the Sichuan quake. The kits help children remain healthy, by ensuring they are able to retain hygienic practices, despite the increased risk of disease and infection as sanitation facilities have been damaged. The kits include soap, towels, tooth brushes and toothpaste.

As night falls, the rain drizzles. It’s the third night Xiao Jie and her family are sleeping inside the bamboo shelter, and their blankets are wet and they are cold.

Xiao Jie can’t fall asleep. Every aftershock wakes her up. Every tremor makes her nervous and she wants to run out of the shelter. Life has been changed so dramatically in just a few minutes. Xiao Jie looks forward to when things return to normal.

World Vision is looking forward to returning a sense of normalcy to children’s lives too. The organisation will open Child Friendly Spaces that will help address some of the psychosocial issues caused during and after the quake. The relief team is currently conducting an assessment with government and compiling ways to best help the affected communities return to normal. An immediate and long term response strategy is expected shortly.