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May 12, 2008 10:10 pm US/Central
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Chicagoans Reach Out To Family After China Quake
People Struggle To Get In Touch With Loves Ones, Raise Money For Aid
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
A devastating earthquake that killed more than 10,000 people in China has left Chicagoans scrambling to reach their loved ones in and around the Sichuan province.
There are more than 70,000 Chinese Americans in the Chicago area and many with family and friends in the earthquake-ravaged region are focused on finding a way to help.
The quake hit 41-year-old Tony Hu's hometown of Chengdu hard. He talked to his restaurant customers about his native city Monday, still shaken by the day's devastating earthquake. His parents and two brothers still live there and he tried to reach them for 10 hours before finally establishing contact.
"My parents and my brother is fine, and all my friends there I called, they are fine," Hu said.
The 7.9 magnitude quake hit in the middle of the afternoon. In the city of Juyuan, at least 50 students died when their three-story high school collapsed on top of them. Relief workers believe the death toll is now at about 10,000, with more casualties expected as rescuers head into day two of their work.
"I was so shocked, and I couldn't believe what happened," Hu said.
Neither could former Chengdu resident Scott Liu of the Chinese American Service League, whose mother still lives there.
Liu got a report from his mother-in-law, who lives 60 miles form the epicenter in Chengdu, that everybody moved quickly to get out. She told him the tremors lasted for several minutes.
"Everybody scared," Liu said. "The building, the shaking. She told me in the house everything is OK, some television falling down."
Rumblings were felt hundreds of miles away. Towers in Shanghai and Beijing reportedly swayed during the quake as people ran to the streets in fear. There is no damage to report near the capital city's Olympic venues for this summer's games, but the Chinese continue to access the full damage as the United States stands ready to send aid.
"We don't have a request for help right now," said White House Press Secretary Dana Perino. "What we can do right now as a country is offer our support and our thoughts and prayers."
The tragedy has many in Chicago's Chinese-American community determined to do something to help the tens of thousands of victims who've been left with nothing.Chicago's Chinese-American community is preparing to assist by establishing a relief fund before the week is out.
"Really the best effort is to raise money because gathering materials and things, it costs money to send and it takes time," said Bernie Wong of the Chinese American Service League.
The quake was felt as far away as Vietnam and Thailand. City structures seemed to withstand the tremors better than those in the countryside. Close to the epicenter, phone and power lines continue to be down, and with rain in the forecast landslides are possible.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov and Vince Gerasole contributed to this report.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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