The earthquake that hit the Sichuan province in China on the 12th of May this year caused many of the hospitals in the area to collapse. The Norwegian Red Cross has therefore recently dispatched a pre-fabricated container equipped with surgical equipment.

"Up until now, any medical help has taken place in tents", says Hossam Elsharkawi, relief coordinator for the Norwegian Red Cross, who was recently the head of operations for The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in the earthquake zone.

"This surgical container is a much more sterile and hygienic environment in which to conduct operations, especially with the upcoming rainy season", Elsharkawi continues.

Read Hoassam Elsharkawi's blog from when he was in Sichuan elsewhere on Alertnet.

The container has been handed over to the Chinese Red Cross, and has been erected in Dujiangyan. It will form a part of a new hospital, consisting of all prefabricated units.

The situation in Sichuan

The earthquake, which measured 8.0 on the Richter's scale, led to the death of at least 69,195 people, 18,404 people are still missing, and over 37,000 people were wounded, according to Chinese officials. 15 million Chinese were driven from their homes, 5 million of those are in need of new housing.

The Chinese government was highly efficient in their emergency response. Thousands of military and health personnel were dispatched to the affected areas and helped in the rescue and relief work.

The Red Cross

180,000 volunteers from the Chinese Red Cross have taken part in the relief work in the affected areas. Some were directly involved in the rescue work of people who were trapped, others have distributed emergency supplies; such as tents, food, water, blankets.

"So many areas needed clean water and sanitation, as their facilities had been destroyed in the quake. Other national societies in the IFRC, such as Spain, Britain, German and Austrian, contributed with huge sanitation and water purification equipment. In addition, we have sent approximately 100,000 tents to the affected areas", says Elsharkawi.

Enthusiastic businesses

Many businesses have shown their support for the relief work of the Red Cross movement. In Norway, companies like Jotun, Lions and Det Norske Veritas (DNV) among others, have contributed money to the relief work.

"These catastrophes affected me deeply, and I wanted to do something to help", says Hui Feng, employee in DNV.

Hui Feng took the initiative to a collection amongst staff working for DNV in Norway, for those affected by the earthquake in China and the cyclone in Myanmar, which happened 10 days earlier. Every fourth employee contributed, and they collected 117,000 dollars. In addition, employees with DNV in Asia and Canada organised their local collections and altogether nearly 200,000 dollars were handed to the Red Cross for the two relief operations.