Awaiting quake news an anxious time

SEATTLE – It took Tong Zhu more than three hours to contact her family in the earthquake-stricken city of Chengdu.

“When I got a busy signal for three hours, I knew something was definitely not right,” said Zhu, an international relations director for the Port of Tacoma. “We were all in panic mode.”

Soon after the news of Monday’s massive earthquake in China spread across Washington, members of the state’s large Chinese community rushed to their phones and Internet, while businesses mobilized to send relief.

The magnitude-7.9 earthquake was one of the most powerful in recent memory, killing more than 12,000 people and crumbling cities in China’s central region. Tens of thousands remain missing and the death toll is expected to rise.

Zhu was woken up by her husband around 5:30 a.m. Monday with the startling news.

“The immediate reaction is disbelief,” said Zhu, who moved to the United States 18 years ago.

But reality quickly sank in. She finally reached her sister in China by phone and learned that her parents had been visiting a city closer to the epicenter. She spent the day worrying about her parents, but they eventually found their way back to Zhu’s sister. She said Tuesday that her parents and sister’s family were camped out outside their home, fearing more aftershocks.

Many Chinese immigrants in the state have ties to the affected region, one of the most populous in China. Local government and businesses, too, have links. Seattle has a sister-city relationship with Chongqing. Recently, a private-public delegation visited the region.

“Right now, we’re trying to fundraise, and collect some of the badly needed equipment,” said Hong Qi, president of the Seattle Chongqing Sister City Association. She also has family in the affected region.

Her husband was on the phone during a routine call home when the earthquake hit.

He called his mother as she was leaving a building, Qi said. “She was saying there were minor injuries when people were getting out, tripping.”

Businesses like Microsoft Corp. have also jumped into action.

With more than 2,500 employees, the Chinese work force is one of the largest foreign groups at Microsoft. Word quickly spread about the earthquake, especially among members of the Chinese Microsoft Employees group.

“Members look up to the board to take some action,” said Weijuan Shi, a board member of the group. “It’s something we really have to take on. It takes a lot, but it’s my country and my people.”

At the corporate level, a Microsoft spokeswoman said the company donated more than $140,000 to the Red Cross in China and will match contributions from employees. Meanwhile, members of the Chinese Microsoft Employees group – who have donated tens of thousands of dollars in the past – are working out the details of sending money to China.