Water restored in SW China after quakes

BEIJING - The Ministry of Water Resources announced on Thursday that water supplies have been restored to some residents in the quake-hit provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou in southwest China following the completion of repairs.

The ministry sent four work teams and expert groups to the quake zones to help restore water and control waterborne diseases immediately after the quakes struck earlier this month, a press release from the ministry said.

The teams have restored water to 602,000 local residents by finding new water sources, repairing pipes and setting up water stations, the press release said.

Only emergency repairs have been conducted so far, the ministry said, adding that full reconstruction will not be completed until September 2013.

The quakes damaged 36 small reservoirs and destroyed river embankments in the provinces, disrupting local water supplies, according to the press release.

Multiple earthquakes struck a mountainous area on the borders of rural Yunnan and Guizhou provinces on September 7, leaving at least 81 people dead. Yiliang is the hardest-hit county.

Relief efforts were further hampered by torrential rains that battered the quake zone last week, cutting off roads and water supplies.