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Victims in Yushu Earthquake were cremated – 2010 Yushu earthquake
by Flying on Apr.27, 2010, under Cremation of each country, Funeral Culture
The 2010 Yushu earthquake struck on April 14, 2010, and registered a magnitude of 6.9Mw (USGS, EMSC) or 7.1Ms(CEA, CENC). It originated in Yushu, Qinghai, China, at 7:49 am local time. According to the Xinhua News Agency, 2,220 people have been confirmed dead, 70 missing, and 12,135 injured of which 1,434 are severely injured.The epicenter was located in Rima village (日玛村/日麻村), Upper Laxiu township (上拉秀乡) of Yushu County,in remote and rugged terrain, near the border of Tibet Autonomous Region. The epicenter is about 30 km from Gyêgu town, the seat of Yushu County,and about 240 km from Qamdo. The epicenter was in a sparsely populated area on the Tibetan plateau that is regularly hit by earthquakes.
Earthquake victims in Yushu in both Tibetan, there are other ethnic minorities and Han Chinese, both local and also the field of human corpses is a disaster area must face important issues, in addition to the traditional habits of ethnic minorities than for burial, like the Hui, Salar is the traditional burial habits.Including the Tibetans and other ethnic groups can fully accept the cremation of the way, are fully respect the views of the family, with full respect for the deceased’s religious beliefs, with full respect for the dignity of the deceased, the body treatment did people first, human services. The victims of the Tibetan monasteries focus mainly by cremation for processing.
In Xining, the province’s hospital, died during the rescue, there are requirements for funeral back to Yushu, and we were allowed to return to Yushu funeral. Other than on the Yushu area, including the victims outside the province, we will under the family burial in Yushu, outside the funeral parlor in Yushu cremation, the Yushu funeral home for cremation, we have to remove the basic funeral expenses, and issued to bring the ashes the relevant certificates.
Yushu remains of those killed in the earthquake, we are strictly in accordance with the “state funeral regulations,” and Yushu in Qinghai Province earthquake relief headquarters staff on the disposal of the dead victims of the earthquake related comments, with full respect for minority burial customs and the wishes of the families of the victims do to the people-oriented and human services, so that the deceased rest in peace, living at ease.
Monks provided spiritual services and consoling for families of the victims, and performed burial rites. Due to the great number of ethnic Tibetan victims in the quake, local clergy from monasteries said that the traditional sky burial funeral rites would be too difficult to manage, and that the unsanitary conditions meant that the souls of the departed may not reach heaven. A local monk said that it was determined a mass cremation, presided over by local Buddhist monks, would be the most appropriate funeral rite for the victims.The Qinghai provincial Department of Civil Affairs sent out directives that funeral customs for local ethnic minorities must be respected, that the victims themselves must be treated with respect, and for a DNA bank to be set up for bodies who have not yet been identified.
Tibetan residents sit on a hillside to observe a mass cremation of victims of the massive earthquake in Yushu County on April 17, 2010
An overview of the earthquake-hit township of Gyegu in China’s northwestern province of Qinghai