South County woman waits word on sister traveling in east China

By Nick Wilson

County residents worked, and at least in one case waited, to get news of friends and relatives traveling and living in China after a major earthquake struck there.

The magnitude-7.9 quake was centered in Sichuan and also affected nearby provinces. Some lines of communication were disrupted, making it hard for one South County woman to contact a loved one.

As of Monday night, the president of the Arroyo Grande Chamber of Commerce was still waiting to hear from her sister who was traveling in China’s eastern region.

Judith Bean said her sister, Susan Barton of Los Angeles, was traveling between Shanghai and Beijing in China because her husband, Gary Clark, is setting up a law practice in Shanghai.

“The last I got was an e-mail from her saying she was going to Beijing,” Bean said. “Her cell phone isn’t on, so e-mail is the only way to reach her but I haven’t gotten through.”

Shanghai and Beijing are both in eastern China — hundreds of miles from the quake’s epicenter. The quake was still felt in those cities and people reportedly scattered onto the streets in Shanghai when the midafternoon quake hit.

Bean said that she has been to China twice on tours organized by the Arroyo Grande chamber and she was saddened to hear of the devastation.

“You think about those folks and your heart goes out to them,” Bean said.

Relief for SLO man

A San Luis Obispo man received word that his close friend from college living near the epicenter of the quake was all right.

Alex Gough, the owner of Adobe Realty in San Luis Obispo, said he learned of the safety of his friend, Ted Johnson, after finding out that the quake struck 60 miles from where Johnson lives in the city of Chengdu. Gough was able to contact Johnson via instant messenger over the Internet, and they had a conversation about quake damage.

Johnson, who’s in his 70s and who graduated from Arroyo Grande High School, teaches at an aviation university. He has lived in China for more than five years.

“The bus he was on wasn’t damaged and neither was his apartment,” Gough said. “He said he didn’t know what was happening until students riding on the bus with him told him.”

Morro Bay connection

A Morro Bay man with a business in China’s mainland near Hong Kong said he planned to call his workers Monday night—this morning in China—though he expected them to be unscathed.

Roger Curry said he was concerned that workers at his import business, about three to four hours from Hong Kong, might have family in some of the more heavily hit parts of the country.

Curry, who spends about four to five months a year in China, said the country has many older buildings made of deteriorating concrete or brick that easily would crumble.

“They’re tearing down old buildings at an incredible rate,” Curry said. “But there are just so many of them.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.