Beijing: China on Saturday launched a major rescue and relief effort to find survivors and victims of the Yunnan earthquake that has claimed at least 80 lives, as Premier Wen Jiabao rushed to the disaster-hit mountainous region to take a stock of the situation.
Hundreds of people have been injured after the shallow earthquakes struck the mountainous southwest China and wrecked devastation on Friday. Rescue officials said on Saturday their teams had reached about 90 per cent of the affected areas.
Wen, who rushed to the Yunnan province on Friday night, said the top concern was to guard against epidemics and ensure safety in the face of aftershocks.
The death toll may climb further, as the quakes have seriously damaged telecommunications and traffic infrastructure, making it difficult to collect information.
“We have to keep safety as a top concern and guard against epidemics,” Wen said after arriving at the quake hit area urging rescuers to treat garbage and medical waste appropriately. “The quakes are not over yet. Aftershocks continue, and within a period of time we will need to guard against secondary and geological hazards,” Wen said.
Directing rescue work in a temporary tent in the quake zone, Wen said the top priority now is to save people. He asked rescuers to reach every village by Saturday. More than 200,000 people in Yunnan were relocated as more than 6,600 houses collapsed and another 430,000 damaged. Direct economic losses were estimated at 3.5 billion yuan (USD 552 million) officials said. In Guizhou, more than 11,700 houses were found damaged. (PTI)
