6.9 Earthquake in Kyegundo, Kham, Tibet: Please Donate!

A major earthquake has hit Kyegundo, Kham, Tibet. Many of my schoolmates are from Kham and are very worried about their family. I got this message on my facebook Tibetan Freedom group. Kate has succinctly provide a lot of info that I would otherwise not have access to. Below is the message in full. Please take the time to read and help if you are able!

Devastating Earthquake Hits Tibet - Please Help Dear friend, Early this morning, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake followed by a number of powerful aftershocks struck Kyegundo (spoken: Jyegundo) in Kham, eastern Tibet (Ch: Jieguduo or Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province). Media sources have reported nearly 600 people killed and more than 10,000 injured. Tibetans with contacts in the area have heard the death toll may be as high as 4,000. All of us at Students for a Free Tibet send our heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost loved ones in the earthquake. Our thoughts and prayers are with those in Kyegundo and the surrounding area. We will continue to post updates on SFT's facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/StudentsforaFreeTibet How you can help: 1) Donate to organizations working in the region and help support emergency relief efforts: * Tibetan Village Project: http://www.tibetanvillageproject.org/ (Note: you can also donate via Causes at: http://www.causes.com/causes/472609?m=01e7a3fb) * Tibet Relief Fund: http://www.tibetrelieffund.co.uk/ * Machik: http://www.machik.org/index.php * Tibet Foundation: http://www.tibet-foundation.org/news/urgent_emergency_appeal_kyekudo_yushu_earthquake/ 2) Help spread the word. The media is reporting that this awful tragedy occurred in western China. Please help educate everyone that the earthquake struck in eastern Tibet, not China. * Change your Facebook status and tweet: Quake in Tibet. Please help. Donate here:http://www.causes.com/causes/472609?m=01e7a3fb (Please RT); * Read and share a moving blog post about the earthquake with reactions from Tibetans in Tibet on High Peaks Pure Earth: http://www.highpeakspureearth.com/2010/04/earthquake-in-tibet-initial-reactions.html * Read and share the statement on the earthquake issued by the five leading Tibetan exile organizations in Dharamsala, India (including SFT India):http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=2186 * Write to the editor of your local newspaper to educate him/her that the earthquake struck Chinese occupied Tibet, which is at a minimum disputed territory. Kyegundo is in the Tibetan province of Kham, annexed into China's present day Qinghai Province. Fears over potential dam burst: The BBC has reported that a massive dam at the headwaters of three rivers in the area has been damaged and that people have fled to the mountains in fear that the dam might burst. A crack in the dam wall has reportedly prompted Chinese officials to drain the reservoir. The Chinese government has plans to build over a dozen more dams in this earthquake prone area. Read more on the Tibetan Plateau blog:http://tibetanplateau.blogspot.com/2010/02/dams-on-upper-reaches-of-yangtze-mekong.html For updates on how you can help the people of Kyegundo, please visit the SFT blog:http://blog.studentsforafreetibet.org With the people of Kyegundo in our thoughts and prayers tonight, Tendor, TenDolkar, Mary Kate, Schuyler, Kate and all of us here at SFT HQ Read more: His Holiness the Dalai Lama sends his condolences to the earthquake victims:http://www.dalailama.com/news/post/520-his-holiness-offers-his-condolences-to-the-victims-of-the-earthquake-in-kyigudo Statement by U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: http://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/pressreleases?id=1629 World News Blog (The sensitivity behind the latest Chinese earthquake): http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/2010/04/14/the-sensitivity-behind-the-latest-chinese-earthquake/ BBC (China earthquake kills hundreds in Qinghai): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8619593.stm NPR (Earthquake In China Kills 400; Thousands Injured): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125930694 New York Times (Strong Quake Kills Hundreds in Western China):http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/world/asia/15quake.html