Rushing to the disaster zone

At around 4:40 pm I was washing my clothes, as I usually do on the weekend.

My domestic chores were interrupted, however, when I checked the WeChat social media platform and saw that an earthquake had hit counties in Zhaotong, a city about 300 kilometers from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province.

The China Earthquake Administration was monitoring the tale of destruction that was unfolding in one of the most populous cities in the border area.

I had visited the county of Ludian previously to do some interviews, and my thoughts went out to the poverty-stricken families in the area. It seemed likely that their modest homes would have collapsed in the catastrophe.

A number of hydroelectric power plants are being built at Zhaotong, which is close to the border with Sichuan province. However, barren lands and remote mountains have been an obstacle to economic development for decades. In addition, complicated geological formations increase the risk of landslides and earthquakes.

People in the areas around downtown Zhaotong enjoy relatively good incomes and a high quality of life, but the mountainous areas are another world.

Two years ago, Yiliang, another county in Zhaotong, was devastated by a tremor and I was one of the China Daily journalists who went there.

I realized I had to rush to the site of this new quake. I contacted the county government in Ludian to check on the casualties and find out how the rescue operation was going.

Simultaneously I sent messages to friends in a circle of journalists based in Kunming.

Then I saw pictures of collapsed houses. My boss in Beijing said I should aim to reach the disaster area on Sunday night.

Fortunately, the military in Yunnan called me to say a rescue team would soon be on its way to the quake zone. "Wow, what a relief," I thought as I packed everything I would need, including food, first-aid supplies and warm clothes.

By 9 pm I was in Songming county, and I was to reach Ludian at midnight.

The wish to tell outsiders what was happening in the quake zone kept me from feeling sleepy.

Now I face a long week during which a weak mobile signal and a shortage of supplies will be my biggest foes.

Hu Yongqi contributed to this story.

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