Angry Tianjin residents demand compensation from the government

Protesters in Tianjin.
(Image credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)

On Monday, about 100 people whose homes were damaged, and in some cases, destroyed, during the blasts that rocked Tianjin, China, on Wednesday held a protest, asking the government to compensate them.

The residents marched outside of a hotel where officials have been holding daily news conferences about the incident, holding signs that read, "We victims demand: Government, buy back our houses" and "Kids are asking: How can we grow up healthy?" The explosions originated at a warehouse where "several hundred" tons of the toxic chemical sodium cyanide were stored, The Associated Press reports. It was a violation of safety rules; state media said no more than 10 tons were supposed to be there at a time, and the chemicals should not have been so close to a residential area and highway.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.