THE Chinese Government is stepping up disaster relief to Northwest China’s Gansu and Qinghai provinces after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake at midnight Monday killed over 100 people. President Xi Jinping has urged all-out search and rescue efforts and proper arrangements for affected people to ensure the safety of people’s lives and property. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, asked local authorities to rescue and treat the injured people in a timely manner to minimize casualties, and closely monitor the earthquake situation and weather changes to prevent secondary disasters. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management yesterday allocated 200 million yuan (US$28.18 million) of funds to the provinces. Of the total, 150 million yuan will be used to support Gansu, while 50 million yuan will go to Qinghai. The second batch of relief goods, including 2,500 cotton tents, 20,000 coats and 5,000 rollaway beds, has been sent to Gansu, and Qinghai has also received 1,500 tents, 5,000 cotton coats and 5,000 beds, among other relief materials. As of yesterday morning, a total of 111,500 relief items have been allocated to local authorities to support the basic needs of the affected people. The quake occurred at 11:59 p.m. Monday and has a focal depth of 10 km. The epicenter Liugou Township is about 8 km from the county seat of Jishishan Bao’an, Dongxiang, Salar Autonomous County in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu. The death toll from the earthquake rose to 127 as of press time, according to local authorities. According to the Ministry of Transport, the road network around the epicenter is operating normally. In sections where roadbed collapses and damage to bridge structures were reported, traffic has been restored following initial repair work. The power supply in Jishishan has been largely resumed. According to the State Grid Corporation of China, electricity has been reinstated for 88.36% of users, and the power generation facilities of the nearby Liujiaxia hydropower station are functioning normally. China’s independently-developed Wing Loong-2H large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has rushed to the earthquake-hit areas to carry out rescue missions in response to the call of emergency management authorities, said the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country’s leading planemaker. Xinhua reporters arrived at the severely-affected Chenjia Village in Dahejia Township at around 3 a.m. yesterday, finding it plunged into darkness as a blackout gripped the area, and electricity cables dangled on the ground. Several houses crumbled, leaving streets strewn with shards of glass, bricks and rocks. According to local villager Ding Xiaolong, he was asleep at home when the quake struck. The intense tremor woke him and he quickly rushed out of the house for safety. Ding said he feels fortunate for being able to escape, but he also conveyed deep sadness for one of his fellow villagers who is currently working in the coastal city of Xiamen, located more than 2,000 kilometers away. “I received a phone call from him after the quake, and he asked me to check on the situation of his family,” Ding said, adding that he rushed to their house, only to discover it had been leveled to the ground, with four people buried underneath. All four members of his friend’s family had lost their lives. Ma Shijun, a student at Dahejia Middle School, recounted running out of the dormitory barefoot, without even grabbing a coat, which left his hands slightly numb. Following the earthquake, teachers promptly organized students to seek refuge on the playground. “Seeing more and more rescue personnel arriving, I find myself less frightened than I was when the earthquake first struck,” Ma said. Due to high altitude, cold weather and complex geological conditions, Jishishan County is prone to natural disasters, such as earthquakes. Since 1900, the area within a radius of 100 km from the epicenter has recorded seven earthquakes above 5 magnitude. Villagers are being evacuated to secure locations, medical teams are racing against time to help those in need, and taxi drivers are transporting the injured to hospitals. Rescue vehicles and ambulances are rendering vital assistance in the earthquake-affected areas. Members of the Gansu branch of the Blue Sky Rescue Team, a Chinese civil relief squad, have set up dozens of tents in the public square of Dahe Village. In Dahejia Township, where the temperature plummeted to 16 degrees Celsius below zero, over 140 medical staff at a local hospital were busy treating the injured people. “All seven of our houses collapsed,” said Shi Lizhen, who works with the hospital. Wiping away tears, she placed several bottles of saline solution in the quilt to prevent freezing. Ma Yuanjun, head of the hospital, told Xinhua that cracks were found on the hospital building walls, prompting the hospital staff to get the medical supplies out of the warehouse and set up makeshift beds by the road to treat the injured. “Life is paramount,” he said. “There is hope so long as people are alive.”(Xinhua) | 