Supplies prized in quake zone

By Wang Ying (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-29 08:15

Tents, quilts and other daily necessities have become much sought after by victims of Friday's earthquakes in Yunnan province, local officials said on Sunday.

Twenty-one people were injured and nearly 110,000 others affected by the two early-morning tremors that struck Ruili, a city on the China-Myanmar border, according to the latest information from the provincial civil affairs department.

The 4.9- and 4.0-magnitude quakes destroyed 126 houses, damaged 63,940 others and affected local schools.

The city's water, power, communication and transport facilities were also affected.

Ruili's Party secretary Yang Yueguo said authorities were making every effort to treat the injured and search for the missing. No deaths had been reported.

Relief materials, including tents, clothes, food and potable water had arrived in affected areas.

Yunnan's neighboring province of Guizhou also suffered a 4.0-magnitude quake on Friday. No casualties or damage were reported.

Ruili experienced two aftershocks of less than 4.0 magnitude on Saturday, and more than 30,000 people were evacuated to safety, officials with the city's earthquake relief headquarters said yesterday.

Lei Meiying, a woman in her 20s from the Dai ethnic minority, delivered a healthy boy with the help of medical professionals in a relief tent in Ruili on Saturday, Chuncheng Evening News reported.

"Because more aftershocks are expected, tents will become the most-needed relief items in disaster areas," the newspaper quoted Ruili mayor Dao Xiaorui as saying.

More than 1,200 students boarding at the Yunnan Minzu Middle School in Kunming were evacuated from their dorms to the playground. The speed of the evacuation was due to the fact the school had undertaken regular emergency drills, Xinhua News Agency reported.

"I was quite amazed when I was awakened that night to see hundreds of students were already on the playground, carrying pillows to protect themselves from falling objects," teacher Tang Sihe said.

The provincial government allocated 200,000 yuan ($30,000) for quake-relief efforts, and tents, quilts, clothes and other supplies were distributed.

Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region sent 2,000 tents to the disaster areas in Yunnan on Saturday night, following orders from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Xinhuanet.com reported.

The earthquake might affect the province's tourism, especially as Kunming and Ruili are two top tourism spots, Yang Xiaomei, an official with China Youth Travel Service, said.

Xinhua contributed to the story