Situation Update
A magnitude 7 earthquake hit Jiuzhaigou County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province at 9:19 pm on 8 August 2017, local time. Over one thousand aftershocks were recorded, including the strongest ones of magnitude close to 5.0.  Apart from Sichuan Province, the tremor was felt across neighboring provinces, including Gansu, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia, Chongqing, etc.. According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, up to 10 a.m., 9 August 2017, 13 people died and 175 injured.  Afraid of aftershocks or suffered from damaged buildings, many people stayed in open areas while the temperature dropped to below 10 degree celsius at night. The local authorities were evacuating over 30,000 tourists who have been stranded in the affected areas.

The local authorities are repairing roads leading to the affected areas, which were partly damaged or blocked.  Since Jiuzhaigou County is located in mountainous areas at high altitude, access to some of the affected communities are limited and the impact of the quake has yet to be fully unveiled.  It is expected that the report on the number of casualties and extent of damage are subject to adjustment while relief operation is fully commenced.  Heavy rainfall and continued aftershocks are expected in the coming days.  Therefore, the risk of secondary disasters, including landslides, remains high.

Red Cross Actions
The local Red Cross has deployed emergency response teams, as well as mobilized emergency funds of RMB100,000 and relief supplies, including 1,400 family kits, 690 tents and 2,000 quilts to the affected areas immediately after the earthquake.  The first batch of relief items, including 250 quilts, were distributed in the affected communities on at around 1 a.m. on 9 August.

Hong Kong Red Cross Actions
The Hong Kong Red Cross has launched emergency tracing service for people in Hong Kong who are looking for missing family members in the Mainland due to this earthquake:
Email:     emertracing@redcross.org.hk
Tel. No.:  2507-7135 (Office Hour: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Mondays to Fridays; please leave voice message during non-office hours and we will get back to you at the earliest.)
Fax:        3103-4010
Website: Online Emergency Tracing Registration Form

The Hong Kong Red Cross has been in close contact with local Red Cross to monitor the situation since 8 August 2017.

General Enquiry
Please call 2802-0016, fax to 2802-0017 or email to relief@redcross.org.hk.

Other Reports
Red Cross Society of China
Sichuan Red Cross