The China Earthquake Administration (CEA), 12 minutes after the quake, had determined the epicenter, time and magnitude. Other parameters about the earthquake gave the top decision-makers in the central government a rough idea of how great the damages could be. A CEA team of 180 rescue specialists flew to quake area that night.

The timely media coverage of the rescue and relief campaign was widely credited with stopping the spread of rumors and mass panic, and building unprecedented national popular support for the government. It also tested the government's commitment to openness and transparency and was a successful trial of the Government Information Release Regulations that went into force on May 1, the Macao Daily commented.

Volunteers had, for the first time in China, played an important role in rescue and relief efforts. A team of farmers from Tangshan who had survived the earthquake in 1976 traveled to the disaster area to share their experience of saving lives in the rubble. Many people spur-of-the-moment decisions to drive to the area in their own cars, bringing the total number of volunteers to more than 100,000. About 70,000 were registered with at least one emergency program.

Rescue and medical teams with expertise and sophisticated equipment came from Japan, Russia, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Cuba, Italy, Germany, Britain and France. It is unclear whether the invitation to foreign rescue and relief teams was included in any emergency plan of the Chinese government, but it was unprecedented.

"The government's response is much better than before," the Japanese newspaper FujiSankei Business i said.

However, in retrospect, the emergency plans and responses were not without problems.

Some plans were impractical, written by unqualified secretaries who lacked the experience or expert knowledge of emergency response, said an earthquake expert who preferred not to be named.

Most plans obviously underestimated or failed to consider the possibility of paralyzed telecommunications and blocked land routes. Airdrops of people and goods proved risky. As a result, rescue operations were delayed in some areas and failed to reach others.

Mianzhu city government's Deng Qiang admitted that they had not rehearsed the emergency response and publicity was inadequate. "We'll revise the earthquake emergency plan," he said.

Transportation of relief goods was sometimes in disorder, sometimes leaving the most needy without.

While an important complementary force to government efforts, volunteers should be trained and better organized. Some volunteers themselves needed rescue and relief after reaching the area and the huge number of private cars contributed to traffic jams on the busy roads.

The nation had braved two natural disasters this year, the heavy snowstorm in February and the Wenchuan earthquake. One would assume that the lessons would be learnt and China would face future challenges with better preparedness and more confidence.

(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2008)