Within 24 hours of China's 7.9-magnitude quake in Sichuan province, some 20,000 Chinese troops converged on the disaster area to help dig out the dead and injured. Military planes and trucks were ferrying in another 30,000 reinforcements, although rain blocked access to outlying areas.
The death toll from the quake stood at more than 12,335 and is certain to rise. Officials said tens are thousands are believed to be trapped in the rubble. Rescue workers pulled more than 50 survivors from the ruins, but many more were pulled out dead.
An earthquake survivor rests at a hospital in Chengdu, Winnipeg’s sister city in southwest China.
Dr. Maurice Ramirez of the American Board of Disaster Medicine said the disasters in China and Myanmar provide clear contrasts in what should and should not be done. "Speed is absolutely critical in a situation like this. China has done the very opposite of Myanmar... Their initial response is very good."
Scenes of devastation
The official Xinhua news agency said about 600 people died when two chemical plants collapsed in Shifang city, spilling more than 80 tonnes of toxic liquid ammonia.
In the town of Juyuan, weeping parents held a vigil in steady rain outside a collapsed school, where more than 900 high school students were trapped.
Throughout the province, tens of thousands of homeless spent a second night outdoors.
The road ahead
Chengdu, Winnipeg's sister city, was hit Tuesday by strong aftershocks -- one of magnitude-six.
Food dwindled on the shelves of the few stores that remained open in Sichuan province, which produces about nine per cent of China's total rice harvest, sparking fears the disaster could fuel panic buying and drive already-high prices even higher.
Although the government said it welcomed outside aid, officials said that the assistance would be confined to money and supplies, not foreign personnel.
Pandas accounted for
At the world famous Wolong National Nature Reserve, all 86 pandas were reported safe late Tuesday in the first word since communications with the preserve were cut off. But there was no word on 12 missing Americans on a World Wildlife Fund tour.
The Olympics
Beijing's Olympics organizers announced they will scale down Wednesday's torch relay in the southeastern city of Ruijin and open with a moment of silence.
Pressure mounts on Myanmar junta
In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier called on the UN Security Council to press Myanmar's military leaders to let international aid reach the 1.5 million survivors of Cyclone Nargis. The move comes as the Conservative government faces mounting pressure to back the UN's "responsibility to protect" doctrine -- one that Canada pushed the world body to adopt. The doctrine calls on the international community to essentially invade the sovereign territory of a country if its government is not protecting its people.
The nine-member advance team of the Canadian Forces Disaster Assistance Response Team, known as DART, was still cooling its heels in neighbouring Bangkok, Thailand awaiting permission to enter Myanmar.
-- CP / AP / Canwest
How you can help
Donations for relief aid can be made by contacting the appropriate links at www.redcross.ca and www.mcc.org
Winnipeg's Chinese leaders are working to set up links to help victims of Monday's earthquake. They are meeting Saturday at the Chinese Cultural Centre, 180 King St., at 2 p.m. The public is invited.
Expect a benefit concert in coming weeks to raise money for victims.
Restaurants are also being asked to help with the aid efforts, likely by donating profits to aid agencies in China.
The Sichuan capital of Chengdu and Winnipeg are sister cities.
Artists from the Chengdu area have performed at Folklorama.
The Assiniboine Park Zoo donated two polar bear cubs to Chengdu and the two pandas that were a huge hit at the city zoo in 1989 came from Chengdu, said the city's best-known Chinese leader Dr. Joseph Du.
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