On May 12, 2008, an earthquake of 8 magnitude struck prefix = st1 /Sichuan. Everyone inChinawas shocked, and quickly became heartbroken as reported deaths climbed from 10,000 to 32,000 to more than 62,000 people. The death toll is still rising, and the number of injured and missing is many times more. The Chinese people faced this disaster with compassion and courage. I was touched by the teacher who died forming a bridge with his body between two desks, protecting four surviving students under him, by the trapped child who told the rescue workers to save others first, and by the dying mother who texted her baby, "My Treasure: If you survive, always remember I love you." She died using her own body to protect her 3-month-old from harm. But don't worry about this baby growing up without a family. Thousands of families in Chinahave already volunteered to adopt earthquake orphans. And the Chinese people faced this disaster with resourcefulness and tenacity . A brave CEO took his weekend SUV, drove hundreds of miles, started digging, and saved several lives. A child used his hands to dig out two fellow students. His hands were severely injured, but his friends survived. Cab drivers turned their cars into ambulances and delivery trucks. More than 100,000 brave soldiers risked (and some gave) their lives to find every survivor. These are the heroes among us, whether they use an SUV, a shovel or a phone. Their heroic deeds and selflessness inspired me so deeply that I can recall only one other such occasion. It was 9/11---I vividly remember the police officers, the firefighters, and of course the passengers and crew on United Flight 93. As a Chinese American, I hope that the Chinese and the Americans will see that they have so much in common---their compassion, courage, and generosity. I hope that people will see that these heroic commonalities   are much stronger than any differences. And I hope that these heroes from 9/11 and 5/12 will inspire all of us to turn our anxiety into courage, our misery into tenacity, and our sorrow into love. The author compares the 5/12 earthquake to 9/11 attacks because   _  .
they were both natural disasters both Americans and Chinese were brave and full of compassion in emergencies he is a Chinese American both killed a large number of people