May 12, 2008 marks the day of a great national trauma in China. In the course of a few minutes, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake hit the province of Sichuan, with additional damage in Gansu and Shaanxi. The epicenter was under Yingxiu Township of Wenchuan county. Prior to the disaster, Sichuan was a peaceful and prosperous province in western China. Its mountainous boundaries protected the area from invasions and wars, allowing Sichuan to develop under relatively peaceful conditions and economic self-sufficiency (International Recovery Platform, 2009).
Sichuan earthquake, also named Wenchuan earthquake, is one of the most devastating natural disasters to ever hit China. The number of dead amounted to 69,226, in addition to another 374,643 injured and 18,923 missing. The earthquake took place at 14:28 Beijing time, leading to the death of many schoolchildren. More than 6,5 million housing units were destroyed, and over 23 million were damaged. In terms of damage to dwellings, Wenchuan earthquake damages compare to the damage of all dwellings of a country the size of Italy (Zhang et al. 2018:25). Roads were destroyed, and telecommunication, water, gas, and electricity were disrupted. About 15 million people were forced to leave their homes. Many businesses and factories were destroyed or damaged, while many school, office and hospital buildings collapsed or were destroyed beyond repair (Zhang et al., 2018). Official numbers estimate the total economic loss to be RMB 845 billion (International Recovery Platform, 2009).
Ten years later, we see the results of one of the most comprehensive reconstruction efforts to ever take place after a natural disaster. Communities have been rebuilt, but the traces of the devastating earthquake are still present in this area. In 2008, a team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development (CASTED) and the Norwegian research institute Fafo conducted the first survey to assess people’s needs in the aftermath of the earthquake. Since then, new surveys were conducted in 2009, 2011, and 2018, following the reconstruction of the area and the development of people’s lives. What do communities and people’s lives look today, ten years after the devastating event?
Disaster policy
China is a country prone to natural disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, and droughts. For this reason, they have had a response and relief system in place since the Sui and Tang Dynasties (AD 581-907) (Zhang et al., 2018:31). Normally, local governments would take the lead in disaster response, but the scope of this case called for the central government to take the leading role and develop new policies. Funds were raised through fiscal policy adjustments, followed by tax exemptions for businesses and individuals, as well as waivered construction and administration fees. Furthermore, policy was developed to deal with land use, support recovery of industry, promote innovation, and reconstruct damaged grain depots in Sichuan. Additionally, policies opened up for participation from social groups, such as private enterprise, trade associations, and foundations in the reconstruction process, by allowing them to do vocational training and raise funds for the affected areas and people. Non-governmental actors were welcomed by local governments, and their presence in the earthquake affected areas was unprecedented in a Chinese context.
Households were given living allowances in the aftermath of disaster, and RMB 2000-5000 for reconstruction of their houses, depending on the degree of damage. People were also given loans to restore their homes. One particular policy was implemented to enhance the recovery. The central government asked 19 non-affected provinces, especially the eastern, more well off provinces, to form partnerships with counties affected by the earthquake. Every province had to allocate 1 % of their provincial revenues for three years to their partner county. The funds were used to rebuild infrastructure, schools, public buildings, and so on. Provinces also encouraged enterprises in their region to invest in the earthquake affected areas, in turn stimulating the economy and creating job opportunities.
Ten years after the disaster
The Chinese government set a goal of reconstructing and recovering the area in three years, with ambitions to complete the process in only two. From most points of view, the reconstruction and recovery has been nothing short of impressive. Within two years, the area was nearly rebuilt, especially in terms of housing and infrastructure. In addition to speed and efficiency in the recovery process, it is worth noting how the Chinese government managed to use the opportunities provided by the disaster to build back in a way that allowed for the affected areas to move forward. Success stories are not hard to come by. By 2011, less than 1% of households were living in tents or temporary houses, as opposed to the 46% who lived there two months after the quake. Electricity was quickly restored to most temporary and permanent houses within two months.
The enormous devastations to schools, hospitals, and other public buildings called for a major rebuilding program which was mostly in place within two years of the accident. School enrollment improved slightly, from 95 to nearly 100 % over the course of ten years. Still, a
large proportion of parents complained that the children’s school way was far too long. In terms of health, 76 % of people claimed that health services improved after the earthquake. Wages have now increased beyond their pre-disaster level. There has, however, been a fall in labor force participation, particularly among women. There could be several reasons for this, such as the general aging of the population as well as migration trends. Despite this, we see that the goal of enhancing people’s material well-being and increasing income has been achieved. The overall results are reflected in people’s opinion of their lives now compared to five years ago. 81 % claim that they were in fact happier now than five years ago, and another 87 % believed they would be happier in another five years. Trust in government is also high, reflecting an overall optimism in this area.
Reconstruction has, indeed, been impressive. Does this give a reassurance that future disasters can be equally well handled? Well, perhaps not. The reconstruction of these areas has come at a very high cost, that might not be possible to finance in the future. The reconstruction after the earthquake was a well-resourced project that utilized some creative funds raising mechanisms. As is was put forward on the closing conference for the earthquake project: What will happen if the next earthquake hits the eastern part of China? Who will take the bill if the more prosperous regions suddenly become dependent on the developed? For now, there are no clear answers. It is safe to say that China will suffer more natural disasters in the time to come, but for the time being, they can be very pleased with the results of reconstruction after the Wenchuan earthquake.
About Dragana Grulovic
Dragana Grulovic is a former student on the MA program option Chinese Society and Politics. She completed her MA thesis in 2019.