Chapter 312 There was an earthquake
. On the evening of the 27th, Su Mo heard the broadcast on the radio that "The National Earthquake Bureau predicts that there may be an earthquake in Tang City today and tomorrow, and asks the people of Tang City to hide in open areas as much as possible." Her heart finally relaxed.
Fortunately, someone chose to believe the anonymous letter in the end.
Regardless of who made the decision, she sincerely thanked that person because he will save tens of thousands of lives.
Although open areas may not be safe during a major earthquake, it is at least better than sleeping in a building.
Su Mo discovered that this broadcast was still played in a loop, almost every few minutes. Radio stations across the country can do this, and I believe that in Tang City, the notification will be more comprehensive.
I hope that this time, there won't be so many tragedies, and more people can be rescued.
At this time, in a conference room in Jing City, a group of people were sitting with solemn expressions.
"Director Zhu, we didn't monitor the earthquake, but you rashly reported the news and let the radio station broadcast it in a loop. Now the whole Tang City is probably shut down. If there was no earthquake, who would bear the economic losses caused?" someone asked angrily.
Tang City is an important industrial city, and the losses caused by the suspension of production are not small. Don't let the whole department be punished.
The old man in the lead waved his hand and said, "If the higher-ups ask for responsibility, I will bear it alone and will not implicate everyone."
"Even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance, I have to notify them. This is my duty. Financial losses can be earned back later. But if people are gone, then they are really gone."
After a commotion just now, Old Zhu was a little tired. Seeing that they wanted to say something else, he waved his hand and said, "Okay, all of you go out. It's time to get off work. If there is any problem, I will take full responsibility."
After everyone left, a young man looked at the old man and said worriedly, "Grandpa, why are you doing this?"
Grandpa has only been in office for more than a year, and his position is already not very stable. If he is held accountable again this time, resignation is already the best outcome. Who knows, he may be sentenced or sent back to the cowshed.
"Ayang, a man should uphold his conscience and live up to the heaven and earth. The person who wrote the anonymous letter wrote several letters in a row within half a year. It should not be intentional to fabricate."
"During this period, I have been paying close attention to the data reported by earthquake stations in various places. Although it cannot be clearly concluded that there will be an earthquake, the data is indeed abnormal in some parts."
"Even if it is only a tiny possibility, I can't hide it for the sake of saving trouble. Compared with those living lives, my personal gains and losses are really not worth mentioning."
The young man looked at the old man, sighed and said, "I will guard it for you, you go back and rest first, if there is anything, I will call you immediately."
The house arranged by the bureau for grandpa is very close to the office building. If he runs fast, he can get there in five minutes.
Zhu Lao waved his hands. How could he rest in peace with such a big thing?
"Grandpa, I know you are worried. Now that the matter has been notified, it is useless for you to stay here. Your health is not good to begin with. If you don't rest when you are free, what if something really happens and you fall down while waiting for you to take charge of the situation?"
"Go back and rest quickly. Don't let me worry. I will definitely call you if there is anything..."
Unable to resist the persuasion of his grandson, Mr. Zhu went back. After arriving home, he quickly cooked some food and kept listening to the radio, looking for verification information. It was almost twelve o'clock before he lay down to rest, but he couldn't fall asleep. He lay there for a long time before he felt a little sleepy.
Just when Mr. Zhu was about to fall asleep, the ground shook suddenly, the water cup on the table fell to the ground, and all kinds of exclamations suddenly rang out in the staff building.
Zhu jumped up with a start, put on his coat, slipped on his shoes, ran out of the room, and ran to the office at a speed he had never run before.
There was an earthquake!
It was a real earthquake!
If the epicenter was really Tang City, and there were such strong tremors in Beijing City, then... could those people still be alive?
Zhu studied geology abroad and was familiar with the historical materials of the world's famous earthquakes. He knew how insignificant human beings were in the face of natural disasters. Even if they were moved to an empty area, a large crack might swallow everyone.
Mr. Zhu ran to the office in one breath and shouted to his grandson on duty: "Quick, call Tang City."
Mr. Zhu's grandson Zhou Feiyang said with a pale face: "I called, Grandpa, but the call didn't go through. The call didn't go through."
When Zhou Feiyang felt the tremor, he didn't run out immediately, but started to call Tang City, but the call didn't go through.
At this time, other phones in the office rang urgently. Mr. Zhu and Zhou Feiyang answered them separately.
The calls were from several seismic stations near Beijing City. Some of the seismometers of these seismic stations were knocked over by the earthquake, and some recorded abnormalities.
At present, there are only a dozen seismic stations in the country that constitute the basic seismic network. The magnitude of each earthquake is determined by averaging the magnitudes given by each station.
Just after I hung up the phone, the central leader called me. "Is it confirmed that the epicenter is Tang City? What is the magnitude?"
"It should be Tang City. When the tremor started, we called Tang City, but the call could not be connected. We cannot assess the magnitude for the time being, but it is estimated that it will not be less than magnitude 7."
"Will there be an earthquake in Beijing City?" The leader asked again. The tremor was so strong just now. If there is an earthquake in Beijing City, the people should be evacuated as soon as possible.
"It is impossible to assess for the time being. It is recommended that everyone stay outdoors in open areas tonight."
After receiving the answer, the leader hung up the phone and arranged for people to make calls and send telegrams to Tang City. At the same time, he asked people to broadcast in Beijing City, asking people to leave the buildings and stay outdoors in flat and open areas.
At the Earthquake Bureau, other people also rushed back to the office. The staff building of the Earthquake Bureau is not far from the office building, and it only takes ten minutes to get here.
The people who made the most noise in the afternoon were pale at this moment, "Director, is there really an earthquake in Tang City?"
Fortunately, Director Zhu reported it in advance, otherwise they would all be finished, and being beheaded or imprisoned would be the lightest punishment.
"Yes." Zhu replied, "Don't panic, just work, I'll take care of the rest. You call the seismic stations in other places first and ask them to report the data..."
Under Zhu's command, everyone began to work in an orderly manner. Soon, the data from the seismic stations in other places were reported one by one, including Nanshi, Lanshi, Kunshi...
According to the results reported by various places, Zhu calculated and finally determined the magnitude of the earthquake to be "7.8".
On the other side, more than ten minutes later, the person who sent the telegram to Tang City received a reply from the Tang City garrison, which contained only four words: "Tang City has been pacified."
The receiver was horrified and quickly sent the telegram to the leader.
Upon seeing this, the leader immediately picked up the phone and called the commander of the Hebei Provincial Military Region, asking him to send troops to Tang City overnight to search and rescue survivors.
Afterwards, he issued several orders in a row, dispatching a large number of professionals and medical personnel from all over the country to Tang City overnight.
At this time, Tang City was full of crying, shouting and wailing. Although advance warnings had been issued, most people had moved to flat and open areas.
But in front of nature, humans are still too small.
In the most violent tens of seconds of the earthquake, the earth suddenly cracked open, and many people were swallowed by the cracks. Before people could react, the cracks closed quickly, and the people who fell in did not even have time to call for help before they were annihilated underground.
There are also many cracks that are not so tight. People on the ground can still hear the wailing and cries for help from underground, but they can't rescue them because they can't see where the people are.
They can only listen to the cries for help getting weaker and weaker until they disappear.
And there are constant aftershocks. Some people who fell into some large cracks were about to climb out, but an aftershock closed the cracks, and there was nothing on the ground except the blood spurting up.
Many people couldn't bear the despair of watching their relatives and friends' lives disappear, and they fell straight down.