An emergency rescue team is expected to fly to the Tibet
Autonomous Region today to assess and aid two
earthquake-stricken counties, a China Seismological Bureau official
said Monday. Included on the team are situation analysts, as well
as prediction and communications experts.
A powerful earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale jolted
Zhongba and Coqen counties at 7:08 AM Monday. As of Monday night
there had been no word of casualties.
"The quake-hit areas are basically uninhabited and
communications conditions are poor," said Xu Deshi, chief of the
bureau's earthquake disaster emergency response department.
Most of the residents of the mountainous area are nomadic
herders.
The epicenter in Longger Township of Zhongba County is 680
kilometers west of the regional capital of Lhasa.
Zhongba County magistrate Toinzhub said an accurate report on
deaths, injuries and damage will not be available for at least two
weeks, since transportation in the area is extremely difficult. It
takes a full day to drive from the Zhongba county seat to Longger
Township.
Lobsang Lhunzhub, head of Longger Township, said officials are
scouring villages to look for possible casualties or damage.
The township is situated at 5,000 meters above sea level in the
Gangdise mountain range.
The Tibet temblor coincided with an International Conference on
Continental Earthquakes in Beijing, where more than 240 experts
from 42 countries gathered Monday to discuss emergency management
and insurance.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said
China, an earthquake-prone country, has intensified its efforts to
reduce seismic risks and enhance public awareness of disaster
reduction.
Salvano Briceno, director of the International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction, said it is imperative to increase people's
understanding of earthquake phenomena and the development of
technology to identify and reduce vulnerabilities that are at the
origin of disasters.
"Earthquakes continue to hit areas where people are neither
prepared nor alerted," he said.
(China Daily July 13, 2004)