Soldiers help bring a wounded woman to the hospital

Gao Jinqiang decided to lie in on Saturday April 20. It was his day off and he enjoyed relaxing and spending the time with his three-month-old daughter. At 8:02 a.m., his world erupted. The violent jolts and ear-splitting noise of Gao's house being torn apart were echoed across his village of Hongxing, Longmen Town, Lushan County of Ya'an City in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

"I realized it must be a serious earthquake and we were in danger," recalled Gao. He had already survived the deadly Wenchuan earthquake five years ago, and knew what to do. He immediately covered his wife and daughter with quilts and lay over them for protection. Three seconds later, his house collapsed.

"Thanks to his help, all my family members survived the disaster," said Zhu Mingfang, Gao's wife.

Gao's family was lucky, but not so was it for many others. Figures released by the Department of Civil Affairs of Sichuan show that by the morning of April 22, the 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Ya'an had left 188 people dead, 25 missing and an additional 11,460 injured. In Longmen Town, near the epicenter of the quake, more than 99 percent of houses collapsed in the quake.

This is one of the worst natural disasters that China has suffered since the devastated earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan on May 12, 2008. Others include the August 14, 2010 earthquake in Yushu, Qinghai Province, and the deadly mud slide in Zhouqu, Gansu Province, which occurred on August 7, 2010.

Immediately after the quake, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang ordered that all possible measures to be taken to rescue victims, and minimize deaths and injuries. Li arrived at the affected area a few hours later to coordinate the nation's rescue operations.

"Our top priority is saving people, because people's lives are more precious than anything else. We should use scientific means, including life detectors, to rescue every person who might survive," Li told reporters at the epicenter in Lushan.

Swift aid

By April 21, more than 18,000 military officers and soldiers were working in the region to evacuate people to safety. Meanwhile, many professional rescue teams also reached or were en route to the affected areas.

Measures were immediately taken to facilitate rescue efforts. Toll fees for expressways leading to Ya'an were waived, and traffic authorities in Sichuan guaranteed green light for all disaster-relief vehicles on the road.

"Compared with the Wenchuan earthquake rescue five years ago, the efforts this time are being taken in a more scientific and orderly way," said Teng Wuxiao, Dean of the Center of Public Security at Fudan University in Shanghai.

Besides the government efforts, China's society also mobilized itself quickly.

Only two hours after the earthquake struck, an emergency medical rescue team from Shanghai Oriental Hospital affiliated toTongji University set off to Ya'an. The team, which consists of 48 doctors and nurses, brought five emergency rescue vehicles, four medical tents and other necessary medical facilities.

"Such rapid assembling capacity was not displayed during Wenchuan earthquake," said Li Zengchun, head of the rescue team, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency. "We have formed effective rescue mechanisms based on our disaster alleviation experience in Wenchuan," Li added.