Quake refugees living in an uninhabitable city

‘Sit down, eat’
“You’ve had a tough day,” said Wang Jinmu, a retired factory worker from faraway Jiangxi province, who came here to volunteer over a week ago and became the de facto chef for the government staff. “Sit down, eat.”

“Conditions are too poor,” said Xiang, with the reflexive humility of a Chinese host who is about to entertain guests. On this occasion, it is clearly true.

We choose to pitch our tent as far as possible from the precarious office buildings, and soon the compound finally grows quiet, except for a chorus of barking dogs scattered around town.

At 4:20 a.m., the ground begins to shake. Even more alarming than the jolting is the sound it emits — a howling sound, like a typhoon trapped in a tunnel. Nearby, the clinking of bricks hitting concrete can be heard. Everyone is awake in the compound, judging by the sudden rise of voices.

About two hours later, another long workday begins with the blaring of a newscast over a public address system.  It is a throwback to more revolutionary times, when every day started this way, in every city and on every train in the country. Today, the news is all about earthquake relief efforts, interspersed with patriotic calls to help the disaster zone.

As Wang dishes up bowls of rice porridge, people argue over how to best describe the night’s aftershock. “It was more of a woohooo,” said one, while others say it sounded more like a growl.

Aftershock not one of the strongest
But those who have been in Qingchuan for any length of time agree it was nothing compared to other aftershocks they have experienced over the last 13 days. They have become used to the earth’s grumbling.

We set out to see the landslide area that crushed Donghekou, which is about an hour off the road to Qingchuan.

Kari Huus / msnbc.com Residents of Qingchuan who lost their homes or were evacuated from unsafe buildings are now living in hastily erected tent enclaves.

We get as far as the village of Guanzhuang, which is crowded with refugees who have come for the rice being distributed by the military. The landslide was just up the road from here, but soldiers have blocked it off and are not allowing anyone into the area. They say it’s too dangerous and there’s a massive crack across the road.

After the long drive out of the mountains, about an hour outside Chengdu, we stop to look in on the Mianyang Stadium, where thousands of quake survivors have been living since the disaster. While talking with residents, another jolt hits, and the stadium sways, sending a ripple of panic through the already traumatized crowd.

Later that we heard reports variously estimating the magnitude of this aftershock at 6.4 or 5.8 — a large quake either way — with its center somewhere near Qingchuan. 

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