A total of 266 people have been confirmed killed in a devastating earthquake that jolted Jiashi and Bachu counties in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China, on Monday morning, the latest statistics have shown.
Relief officials said Tuesday that a total of 8,861 houses and 900 classrooms collapsed in the massive quake that measured 6.8 on the Richter Scale.
The Kashi Prefectural government immediately sent leading officials to direct rescue efforts at the disaster areas. On Monday alone, 1,100 soldiers, 200 armed police, and more than 200 public security officers and policemen joined in the rescue efforts.
Twelve medical teams, consisting of 160 medical workers, have also arrived in the quake-jolted areas.
Shi Dagang, secretary of the Kashi Prefectural Committee of the Communist Party of China, said there is at least one county-level cadre in each village in the disaster area to direct rescue efforts and help quake victims build tents.
Reports from quake-jolted counties and cities show that the quake injured only one person and damaged more than 1,000 houses in Jiashi County, with no reports of deaths. One was killed in Markit County.
Most of the deaths, injuries and damages were reported in Bachu County.
Rescue officials said that currently at least 5,000 more tents are urgently needed in the disaster areas as temperatures in the area still hover around zero. By Monday evening, a total of 600 tents and anti-cold medicine had been sent to the disaster areas.
Memet Yasheng, director of the regional public health bureau, said that pharmaceutical companies in Kashi Prefecture transported 100,000 yuan (US$12,095.6) worth of medicine to the disaster areas Monday afternoon. Two hospitals in the prefecture have fully prepared to treat people injured in the quake.
Zhang Yunfeng, director of the regional seismological bureau, said aftershocks have continued in the disaster zone and quakes measuring five to six degrees are expected in the area in the near future.
An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale hit the Jiashiand Bachu area in 1998.
Xinhua has learned that the Lanzhou Military Area Command, Xinjiang Military Area Command and Nanjiang (southern Xinjiang) Military Area Command have sent 1,140 soldiers and 120 trucks to join the rescue efforts. They also donated more than 1.3 million yuan (US$157,000) worth of relief materials and 2.05 million yuan (US$247,000) in cash to disaster victims.
(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2003)
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