Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Fearful of New Quakes, Chinese Pitch Tents

Even those still with homes leave for the safety of the street

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted May 22, 2008 11:01 AM CDT
Email

(Newser) – Across Chengdu, the capital of China's earthquake-struck Sichuan province, citizens are camping out in tents in public parks, riverbanks, and even on the sides of the roads. But many of the tent-dwellers haven't lost their homes, reports the Wall Street Journal. Rather, they're reluctant to return to their high-rise apartments, fearful of aftershocks.

"I've fully mentally prepared to stay outside for a long time," said one middle-class resident of Chengdu, whose large tent houses seven and includes a twin bed. For campers like her, clean water and sanitation can be obtained just by returning home. But in poorer neighborhoods, tent-dwellers are lining up 40 deep to use toilets, and Chinese authorities are worrying about public health.

China's national flag flies at half-mast as local residents afraid of aftershocks set up tents at the sports ground of Sichuan University in Chengdu.
China's national flag flies at half-mast as local residents afraid of aftershocks set up tents at the sports ground of Sichuan University in Chengdu.   (AP Photo/Color China Photo)
A boy looks out from a tent at a camp set up for earthquake evacuees in Anxian, in China's southwest Sichuan province, Wednesday, May 21, 2008.
A boy looks out from a tent at a camp set up for earthquake evacuees in Anxian, in China's southwest Sichuan province, Wednesday, May 21, 2008.   (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
With a banner reading Fight against Quake on display, a woman fans her child inside a tent at a camp set up for earthquake evacuees in Anxian, in China's southwest Sichuan province, Wednesday, May 21, 2008.
With a banner reading "Fight against Quake" on display, a woman fans her child inside a tent at a camp set up for earthquake evacuees in Anxian, in China's southwest Sichuan province, Wednesday, May 21,...   (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
An elderly man eats his meal inside a tent at a camp set up for earthquake evacuees in Hanwang, Sichuan province, China, Tuesday, May 20, 2008.
An elderly man eats his meal inside a tent at a camp set up for earthquake evacuees in Hanwang, Sichuan province, China, Tuesday, May 20, 2008.   (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A woman, left, cries as she consoles her relative who survived the earthquake from the devastated Wenchuan county after they air lifted at the Phoenix airbase in Chengdu in China's southwest Sichuan province, Thursday, May 22, 2008.
A woman, left, cries as she consoles her relative who survived the earthquake from the devastated Wenchuan county after they air lifted at the Phoenix airbase in Chengdu in China's southwest Sichuan province,...   (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

Epidemiologists fret as China orders more tents
AFP

Chinese state media show Hu Jintao in tent city
Xinhua (China)

 
China • aftershock • Sichuan province • China earthquake • Chengdu • tent city

More Newser Stories

5.3 Aftershock Shakes Sichuan

China Aftershocks Level 420K Homes

70,000 Homes Collapse in New China Aftershock

Another Major Aftershock Rocks China

China Jails Quake Activist
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne