State media comments on quake tragedy

BEIJING, May 30 (UPI) -- China's state-run news agency Friday bemoaned the havoc the May 12 quake caused, saying more preparation is needed to prevent a recurrence.

As the communist government struggled another day to deal with gigantic quake-formed dams threatening to rupture, while finding homes for tens of millions of quake victims, and getting its massive reconstruction effort into high gear, Xinhua said the nation was "almost caught off-guard" by the earthquake in Sichuan Province. People, Xinhua noted, "were just inadequately prepared."

China's media coverage of the tragedy -- which about 80,000 people dead and 15 million homeless -- has won praise for its factual reporting and accuracy, especially that done by Xinhua.

"For a nation that has enjoyed three decades of economic boom in peace and stability … the sudden tragedy was just too much for everyone to take," Xinhua said in a 1,300-plus-word opinion piece.

Urging it was time to ponder "why the loss could be so huge" and prepare for the future, the report said, "The nation should start from now to realize that its future should not be built merely on GDP figures, but on its readiness to ward off the worst odds of all natural and human factors."

Xinhua said the government has "noticed the quality of structures falling in the quake, especially vulnerable school buildings that killed hundreds and thousands of children."