To: Everyone in the WKK family, Clients, and Principles
On the afternoon of May 12, 2008, at 14:28, an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale hit Wenchuan County, northwest of Chengdu in Sichuan Province of China. It was the most serious disaster in China since the Tanshan earthquake of 1976. As of May 29, 68,516 people were killed, 365,399 were injured and 19,350 are missing.
Sympathy has poured in from all corners of China and through the world after the devastating quake. As part of the WKK Group, we are all concerned about the life and safety of our colleagues in Chengdu, Chongqing and Xian areas. Many of us have called the HK headquarters to send our sympathies to our colleagues in the devastated regions.
We, WKK, wish to thank everyone of you for your thoughts and prayers. Fortunately, no deaths or injures were reported. All of our colleagues in Chengdu, Chongqing and Xian and their family members are safe.
Situation of the our colleagues
However, aftershocks continue to occur very often. It is very frightening. Taking the warning of possible severe aftershock from the local provincial government, almost all of our colleagues in Chengdu of Sichuan Province, Chongqing and Xian of Shaanxi Province had no choice but to leave their homes with their families. For almost two weeks after the quake, many of them slept and stayed in the outdoor open areas on the street with no sanitation, no normal diet, no water, power, and telecommunication. They could only use the remaining power in their mobiles for outside communication. In addition, they were all frightened of the continuing aftershocks and did not sleep well at night.
Company Support
Knowing that many of our colleagues and their family members stayed on the street with no shelter, WKK immediately sent tents by air to them for their urgent needs. WKK is also supporting relief activities in the affected areas.
Touching
The earthquake tragedy brought many of us sadness but at WKK, there was also light brought to our hearts by our Chengdu, Chongqing, and Xian colleagues.
Right after the earthquake on May 12, when everyone in the disaster areas worrying about life and family and rushing home, we had five very responsible colleagues from the Chengdu, Chongqing, and Xian offices continue to perform their jobs. They chose to stay at our customer’s factory to complete their jobs of machine installation. Properly they wanted to ensure our customers had the machines ready on time for customer production schedules.
Thank you
WKK would like to thank all of you. We would like to thank God that all of our colleagues in those areas are safe from the earthquake. Thank those five staff members for their contributions and support to the company and our customers. We are very proud of having them all with us! Also, we thank all of our WKK staff, our clients, and principles for your caring, sympathy and support.
It is all of you who bring warmth, harmony, and unity to the WKK family. Let all of us continue to provide support to each other, especially to our colleagues in the affected areas.
Remarks:
1. Our offices in Chengdu, Chongqing and Xian were closed after the earthquake on May 12 but have resumed work on Thursday, May 22.
2. The five colleagues working in the customer’s factory in Chongqing had completed machines installation and went back their hometowns on Friday, May 23. WKK and all the GMs again would like to send our appreciation to all of you for your good work.
3. At the present, Chengdu, Chongqing and Xian areas are still not safe because of continued aftershocks. On Sunday afternoon, May 25, a 6.4-magnitude aftershock hit the town in the northeast of Chengdu in Sichuan Province. It was the strongest of dozens since the initial May 12 earthquake. Just two days later on Tuesday, May 27, a 5.4-magnitude aftershock hit the quake zone in Sichuan Province and 30 minutes later, another powerful aftershock at 5.7-magnitude hit the neighboring area in Shaanxi Province where the city of Xian is located. In addition to aftershocks, millions of people in the affected areas are threatened by possible massive flooding from a lake formed by landslides following earthquake in Sichuan Province. The threat now has grown more urgent. Therefore, we hereby encourage all of us for continued prayers for the people in the affected areas and our WKK family.
Yours sincerely,
Hamed El-Abd
Executive Director and President
WKK Distribution Ltd.
