China tackles earthquake devastation

A double earthquake which struck southwest China left millions of dollars in damage, killed five people and injured more than 1,500, offic...

A double earthquake which struck southwest China left millions of dollars in damage, killed five people and injured more than 1,500, officials said Monday, giving new figures. A spokesman at the bureau of civil affairs in Yunnan province told AFP by telephone although the death toll from Saturday8217;s quake had risen by only one, hundreds more people had been injured than originally thought.

A total of 1,542 people had been injured, with 500 still hospitalized, according to the civil affairs bureau. The estimated damage so far from the quakes has reached 610 million yuan 73.5 million US dollars, the spokesman said. Thousands of buildings and 30,000 homes were destroyed by the double temblor which left thousands without shelter, the official told AFP.

The Xinhua news agency reported more than 65,000 buildings either collapsed or were damaged in varying degrees at the sparsely populated epicentre in the mountainous region. 8220;The situation is not good. It8217;s an agricultural area. There aren8217;t many buildingshere, so most people are living outside,8221; said an official at the main hospital in Yao8217;an county, where the quakes struck. The hospital official said no one was believed to be trapped in the rubble, but many were injured and more medicine was needed to help them.

8220;There are not enough doctors and nurses,8221; said a doctor at a rural hospital who identified herself only by her surname, Zhou. She said the seven medical staff at the clinic have been working around the clock helping the injured. 8220;What8217;s most needed now is medicine and food. They8217;ve sent clothes and dried food, but it8217;s not enough,8221; Zhou said.

The two quakes, measuring 5.9 and 6.5 on the Richter scale, struck early Saturday within 90 minutes of each other in Yao8217;an county, 200 km west of the provincial capital, Kunming. The homeless spent a second night outdoors Sunday in makeshift shelters suffering through as night-time temperatures fell to six degrees Celsius in Kunming. The Red Cross in mainland China and Hong Kong have sent tents,medical supplies and dried food to the victims.

Provincial leaders in Yunnan province also pledged to allocate eight million yuan for quake relief, state media reported. Provincial and local governments provided more than 1,600 large tents that can accomodate a dozen people each. The country8217;s Ministry of Civil Affairs also mobilized 2,000 tents which are expected to arrive in the disaster area Tuesday, China Daily said Monday.

Nearly 2,000 blankets have been supplied by the province and by Hong Kong8217;s Red Cross. Donations have also poured in from elsewhere, including three tons of rice, two tons of noodles, 200 quilts and more than 10,000 yuan, China Daily said.

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In neighbouring Dayao County more than 4,800 buildings collapsed and nearly 50,000 others, and many reservoirs, were damaged, Xinhua said. The whole area is also suspectible to strong aftershocks which could occur in the next few days, the official Xinhua news agency said. Earthquakes are frequent occurances in Yunnan.