This is just one of the maps found on the USGS website.  It still blows my mind that Chengdu suffered such little damage despite being so close to the epicenter.  The area that we visited on Saturday was near Mianzhu – not on this map – but just a little southwest of Mianyang.

                   

                                

Makeshift shelters in our own complex.  People are still living outside in tents, simply because they are afraid to go into their homes. 

             

It was hard for me to reconcile this today… seeing people in our school complex with a tent for every family member, their car parked nearby and their brand new, intact apartment behind them.  We had people on the roads around Mianzhu begging for tents or tarps – anything for shelter.  These people were setting up shelter in the midst of the rubble, with the clothes on their backs and whatever they were able to pull out from the piles of wood and bricks.  Perhaps a month from now, when the rich residents of ZhongHai and XiQuHuaYuan are tired of living outside, they can send their tents to those in the countryside who have lost everything.  Having said that, the Chinese citizens have contributed over 3.5 billion yuan (500 million dollars) to the rescue effort – and that’s just the official count through the Red Cross donation centers!