新京报/The Beijing News has a commentary piece calling for a long fight for earthquake relief:
关注次生灾害 打好救灾持久战
Pay close attention to this disaster Fight a long fight for disaster relief
100多个小时过去了，在各方面的全力救援下，迄今已有许多生命，被从汶川特大地震的死亡边缘挽救下来。此时此刻，仍有成千上万的救援者，在抗震救灾的第一线不惧生死地救援，仍有更多全国乃至全世界的善良人士牵挂着灾区和灾民，尽其所能地为他们出钱出力。
Over 100 hours have passed, and through every aspect of the strenuous relief efforts so far many lives have been saved from edge of death in Wenchuan’s severe earthquake. At this very moment, there are still thousands upon thousands of rescuers fearlessly risking their lives in the frontline of earthquake relief efforts, there are still many more kind-hearted people around China and even throughout the world who care about the disaster area and the victims, giving all the money and strength they can.
“不抛弃，不放弃！”当72小时黄金救援时间无情地过去，当新发现的生还者越来越少，无数民众却把这句话当作共同的信念。
“Don’t give up! Don’t quit!” As the 72 hour golden period for rescue has callously passed, as newly discovered survivors become fewer and fewer, countless numbers of people have made this saying their shared faith.
眼下，尽管时间在一天天流逝，但人们的心弦依然紧绷，爱心依然在汇聚。据民政部统计，截至5月17日13时，全国共接收国内外社会各界捐赠款物60.23亿元。
At present, although time is passing by, the aftermath of the quake still tugs at people’s heartstrings, their compassion is still concentrated. According to statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, up to 1 pm on May 17, nationwide a total of 6.023 billion yuan of donated money and goods had been collected from every sector of society within China and overseas.
而与此同时，我们也要牢牢记住，抗震救灾是一场艰苦的持久战。
And at the same time, we must firmly remember, earthquake relief is a long, arduous battle.
历史经验证明，人类在危机中往往迸发出不可估量的求生本能。因此，只要有一丝希望，探寻幸存者、挽救生命的工作就要坚持、再坚持，多坚持一刻，就可能多挽救几条濒危的生命。
Historical experience proves that in a crisis, an immeasurable instinct for survival often bursts out of humanity. Therefore, so long as their is hope, the search for survivors and work to save lives will continue, and continue some more, and continue still more, and so more endangered lives can be saved.
事实也证明，在黄金救援时间过去后，昨天又有两百多名废墟下的灾民成功获救。
Reality also proves, now that the golden period for rescue has passed, yesterday over two hundred victims were successfully rescued from under the ruins.
救人之外，还要防疫。
Apart from saving people, there’s also epidemic prevention.
由于地震发生时适逢大雨，气温较低，人畜尸体腐烂过程被拉长，各种瘟疫蔓延的速度也可能因此被暂时压制。灾区地形复杂，人口分散，许多可能导致瘟疫的疫源，也许要过很长一段时间才会发作，才会危害劫后余生的幸存者。
Because the earthquake happened right when heavy rain was falling and the temperature was relatively low, the rotting process of the corpses of people and livestock was lengthened, and this may have suppressed the speed of spread of every kind of epidemic. The topography of the disaster zone is complex, the population scattered, and there are many possible sources of epidemic, and it is also possible an outbreak may not happen for a long time, threatening the survivors.
大灾之后无大疫，是政府对灾区的承诺，也是对灾区幸存者最实际的慰藉。而要实现这一点，对灾区的防疫、卫生工作， 就要持久关注，确保疫情不发生、不蔓延、不反复，以避免那些本已饱受地震之苦的灾区幸存者，再遭到灾后疫情的二次危害。因此，高度关注每一例疑似传染病 例，将诊断结果第一时间向群众公布，就成为必须。
No epidemic after the disaster, this is the government’s vow to the disaster zone, and it’s also the most practical consolation for the victims in the disaster zone. And to achieve this will require paying close attention to epidemic prevention and hygiene work for a long time, to guarantee an epidemic won’t occur, won’t spread, won’t repeat, to prevent those survivors in the disaster zone who’ve already suffered so much bitterness from the earthquake from meeting the second threat of an epidemic after the disaster. Therefore, paying a high level of attention to every suspected case of a contagious disease and the immediate release of the results of diagnosis to the public have become a necessity.
强震之后，许多地方地质结构被破坏，产生种种地质险情，不少房屋、桥梁、公路、水库水坝等设施，也受到不同程度的损害，留下很难察觉的隐患。这些损害、隐患有些当时发作，有些会在灾后一段时间产生险情。
After the strong quake, many areas’ geological structure has been destroyed, many geological hazards have been created, many houses, bridges, highways, reservoiers, dams, and other infrastructure have received differing degrees of damage, many hidden dangers that are hard to detect remain.
震后几天、十几天，公众的关注集中于此，许多危险较易被发现，并得到及时、妥善处理，但以后呢？
A few days, a couple of weeks after the quake, if the public’s attention is this concentrated, many dangers will be discovered with relative ease, and will be promptly and appropriately dealt with, but afterwards?
从国内外的经验看，有些地震造成的地质和建筑隐患，甚至可能潜伏几年之久。因此，对这些可能对灾区构成二次危害的地质与建筑隐患，就务须持续关注、科学监管、及时预警、妥善处置，以避免灾区幸存者再遭次生灾害的打击。
Looking from experience within and without China, we see some earthquakes create hidden geological and structural problems which may even be concealed for several years. Therefore, we must surely continue to pay attention to, scientifically supervise, promptly warn of, and appropriately handle these hidden geological and structural problems which could create a second danger in the disaster zone to prevent another disaster hitting the survivors in the disaster zone.
而今，地震已在灾区各河流上形成了多个堰塞湖，这些堰塞湖有些可能会较快溃堰决堤，有些却会如悬在灾区头顶的刀子 一般，悬上几个月、几年甚至十几年。正如许多专家指出的，每一个地质堰塞湖都是一颗危险的定时炸弹，大降雨量、小规模地壳运动，甚至一些偶然的人为因素， 都可能导致这枚定时炸弹被引爆。
Now, the earthquake has formed many barrier lakes on every river in the disaster zone. Some of these barrier lakes could quite quickly burst their dykes, some could hang like a knife over the head of the disaster zone, hang there for several months, several years, or even longer. Just as many experts have said, every geological barrier lake is a dangerous time bomb, heavy precipitation small-scale crustal movement, even some accidental artificial factor, all could lead to the detonation of this time bomb.
[note: the formatting may have been stuffed up a little. The internet crapped out and I had to finish this offline in open office. 麻烦]
悬湖一旦决堰，洪水咆哮，席卷而出，其对所经之处的摧毁力，甚至不亚于地震本身。因此，对这些危险的“定时炸弹”，各方面都必须长期关注、科学监察，并尽可能迅速、妥善地寻到有效的解决方法，以避免在疮痍好不容易渐渐平复、家园总算开始重建之际，再遭逢一次无妄之灾。
Once these hanging lakes burst their dams, the floodwaters roar, sweeping everything away, it’s destructive power as great as everything we’ve seen, even as great as that of the earthquake itself. Therefore, we must pay close attention over the long term and scientifically supervise these dangerous “time bombs”, and so far as possible rapidly and appropriately find effective methods to solve the problem to prevent, in this time of trauma that will with great difficulty gradually heal, when homes are finally starting to be rebuilt, another undeserved calamity from happening.
救灾是一场艰苦的持久战，绝不能轻言失败，绝不能轻言放弃，更绝不能轻言胜利。大灾当前，每一个人都必须时刻牢记这一点，从而坚决打好抗震救灾这场持久战。
Disaster relief is a bitter and long battle, and we absolutely can not talk lightly of defeat, absolutely can not talk lightly of giving up, but even more so, absolutely can not talk lightly of victory. The great disaster facing us, every person must constantly keep firmly in mind, thereby resolutely fighting this long battle for earthquake relief.
Right, now let’s see if my connection will last long enough to post this….
