ABSTRACT
Nanba and its Devastation in 2008 Nanba town is located in the southeast part of Pingwu County, Sichuan Province. It lies at the intersection of two major roads and the junction of the Fujiang and Shikan rivers. Nanba’s history is long; in the Southern Song period (ce 1127-1279) it was an important county seat. Currently, Nanba’s administrative area is 326 km2. Including the town itself and the 26 administrative villages under its jurisdiction, the population totals 23,500. Nanba is the second largest district in Pingwu County. It has one middle school, three central primary schools, two kindergartens, and one health center. Mineral resources are abundant. There are large reserves of manganese ore and quartz ore, making Nanba an important industrial base in Pingwu. The main crops are corn, rice, wheat, and potatoes. Other agricultural products include walnuts, silk, and ginkgo biloba. Before the 2008 earthquake, Nanba served as an economic and commercial center because of its convenient transportation and rich agricultural products and mineral resources. Manganese mining and processing for manganese powder is the dominant industry. Nanba is surrounded by mountains, and arable land is scarce. Government policies mandating the return of farmland to forest have reduced income from agricultural production in recent decades; income from commerce has increased proportionally. The development of industry, commercial crops, and trade indicates that by 2008 Nanba was already urbanizing. Interviews reveal that before the earthquake the typical resident of Nanba lived in a wooden structure with a small courtyard. Public infrastructure was minimal, with no streetlights or waste bins. The township was transforming gradually from an agricultural market center to a commercial and business center. Residents of Nanba lived a leisurely, somewhat isolated life. On May 12, 2008, however, a massive earthquake destroyed everything. Nanba was one of the most severely affected areas: 1,343 people died. Almost all houses were damaged. Shops and offices collapsed and were inundated in mudslides. Nanba became a veritable ruin (Figure 2.1).
