Based on the extent of the building collapses, Zhao Xian estimated that the earthquake was at least magnitude 7 or higher.
Such a massive earthquake is devastating. Fortunately, there were no tall buildings in ancient times; most houses were single-story.
The tallest buildings are only two or three stories high, and they are made of wood, so even if they collapse and people are buried underneath, they are easy to rescue.
Even so, the number of people who died in this earthquake was by no means small.
At this time, in an open space in front of the city gate of Dezhou, the government set up two places to distribute porridge, and a large number of disaster victims lined up in long queues to receive these life-saving foods.
It didn't snow in Texas, and the temperature was higher than in Narcissus Village, but it was still very cold. The disaster victims on site were shivering from the cold.
At this moment, an official walked out of the city, followed by several yamen runners. They must have come to inspect the situation here.
Upon seeing the government officials, Zhao Xian went over to inquire about the situation and then handed over the relief supplies he had brought to the local government.
"Where is the Prefect of Dezhou now? I would like to see him."
The official sized up Zhao Xian. He noticed that Zhao Xian was dressed plainly and his identity was unclear, but the men following behind him were distinguished by their imposing manner and full of armor; they were likely Zhao Xian's bodyguards.
Seeing this, the official dared not be negligent and spoke up.
"A strong earthquake struck the Dezhou area, and several counties under its jurisdiction were severely affected. Prefect Huang went down to inspect the disaster situation and carry out rescue operations yesterday."
If you need anything, please tell me. If you require any help, just ask. The Texas government will do its best to assist.
Zhao Xian nodded. In the event of another major disaster, the Dezhou government would still be able to do something practical for the people.
"I can tell you, I am Zhao Xian from Shuixian Village. I came here to help after learning about the earthquake."
We brought one million catties of grain and some clothes with us on the merchant ship at the dock.
"You should unload these relief supplies quickly and distribute them to the disaster victims as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, the official was overjoyed and quickly bowed to Zhao Xian.
"This humble official greets Your Excellency. Two days ago, General Li Guang led a large force to Dezhou to carry out rescue operations."
Due to the wide area affected and the severity of the disaster, General Li's troops have been dispersed to various locations.
The most needed items in the disaster area right now are food and clothing. General Li said that the relief supplies for the Junior Minister would arrive soon, so I did not go to the counties and towns below to carry out disaster relief, but waited here for the relief supplies.
I thought the relief supplies for the Junior Minister would be transported by vehicles, but it turns out they were delivered by merchant ships.
"I will immediately arrange for people to handle these relief supplies and distribute them to the disaster victims as soon as possible."
Zhao Xian nodded and said:
"Then I'll have to trouble you. I'd like to go to the city to check on the disaster situation and see if there's anything I can help with."
"Very well, the situation in the city is complicated and there is some danger. I will arrange for someone to accompany you, Lord Shaoqing."
That's good too. I'm not familiar with the city, so it will be much more convenient to have someone from the government take me around.
Soon an official arrived with more than twenty yamen runners and bowed respectfully to Zhao Xian.
"Greetings, Your Excellency. I am Mi Jin, the Registrar of Household Registration in Dezhou. I have been ordered by Magistrate Lin to accompany Your Excellency into the city to inspect the disaster situation and to protect Your Excellency's safety."
Zhao Xian nodded; he hadn't expected that the official from earlier was the Prefect of Dezhou.
In ancient prefectures, the Tongpan was usually the deputy of the prefect, and his position was not low, at least a sixth-rank official.
"Then it's Clerk Laomi's turn to lead the way," Zhao Xian instructed.
The group followed Registrar Mi into the city, and when they saw the situation there, they were all greatly surprised.
Zhao Xian arrived in Dezhou by merchant ship. Since it was by water, he did not see any major disasters along the way.
At this time, the city was completely in ruins, and not a single intact house could be found.
Beside the ruins, several thatched huts were erected, serving as temporary residences for city dwellers.
On the ruins, people were still searching for survivors. Once a living person was found in the ruins, the surrounding people rushed forward to rescue them.
"Today is the fourth day since the earthquake, and the survivors are searching for others."
Sometimes, after exhausting all our efforts to find someone buried, nine times out of ten they are already dead. Now, it is very difficult to rescue a living person from the rubble.
"According to experienced people, there's no need for search and rescue after tomorrow, because those buried in the rubble won't survive more than five days," said Registrar Mi.
Zhao Xian nodded. In his previous life, although he had never experienced an earthquake, he knew some earthquake knowledge and had read some reports about earthquakes.
It would be a miracle to survive being buried in earthquake rubble for five days.
In modern times, people use search and rescue dogs or life detectors to search for and rescue lives in rubble.
However, in ancient times, people had not yet trained search and rescue dogs, let alone life detectors, so the efficiency of rescue operations was very low.
Sometimes, after expending a great deal of effort to dig through a rubble, you find that the person inside is already dead, or there is no one in the rubble at all.
Looking at the ruins everywhere, Zhao Xian's heart trembled.
There must be survivors under so many rubble, but people don't know where they are buried or whether they are still alive, which leads to missing the best time for rescue.
If I had a life detector at that moment, I could save many people.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xian immediately started browsing the system, knowing that life detectors were sold there.
Most life detectors are quite large and difficult to operate. If you were to bring out such a modern instrument, you would be detected immediately, which would be problematic.
Ideally, one should have a very small life detector that is easy to operate and not easily detected by those around them.
So Zhao Xian started searching carefully in the system. Since he had just upgraded the system, there were many products to choose from after the upgrade, and he quickly found a very small life detector.
This device is so small that it won't attract the attention of anyone nearby when held in your hand.
This life detector has a small screen that can show whether there is life in the ruins, and can even provide the location and number of life forms.
Zhao Xian immediately bought the life detector and began to scan the ruins around him.
They searched the ruins of more than a dozen houses but found no signs of life underneath.
This greatly disappointed Zhao Xian, who even began to doubt whether the detector was faulty.
He quietly pointed the detector at someone next to him, and the detector's screen immediately displayed information.
It seems the instruments in our hands are working properly, which means either there is no one in the ruins, or the people in the ruins are already dead and the instruments cannot detect them.
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