Aftershocks

China | World attention turns to Beijing but Sichuan quake victims struggle toward recovery | Tom Pfingsten

Getty Images

CHENGDU, China—Months have passed since rescuers pulled survivors from the rubble in Sichuan Province, and since survivors watched as parents retrieved their dead children from the jagged remains of their schools. By the time the Olympics started, the tales of nightmarish sights and sounds of Sichuan's deadly May earthquake had subsided even within the country, as the government subtly guided everyone's attention toward events in Beijing.

But for the residents of Sichuan, an agriculture-rich region often referred to as the "Province of Abundance," since May it has become the province of agony: At least 70,000 people died in the quake, and as of last month over 18,000 are still listed as missing. In addition, 5 million people lost their homes.