Medical relief team heading to quake area

BEIJING - A Chinese international medical relief team is heading to the 7.0-magnitude quake-hit areas in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

The team, which consists of 19 doctors from the General Hospital of Armed Police Forces, will be taking surgery equipment and more than 5,000 types of medicine to the quake-hit region.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs has dispatched relief materials to the ground, including 30,000 tents, 50,000 cotton blankets and 10,000 make-shift beds.

Other central government ministries are also carrying out relief work.

Earlier the National Health and Family Planning Commission has dispatched a national medical emergency response team consisting of more than 180 doctors to the ground.

The Ministry of Public Security has also dispatched a command team to the ground.

The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) has launched an emergency response, ordering the update of latest weather conditions for the quake-hit region.

The CMA has also ordered close satellite monitoring of the quake-hit region and disaster analysis.

The CMA's National Meteorological Center forecasted that it will mainly be overcast in Lushan, the epicenter, during the next three days. It will rain occasionally with slight winds, and the temperature will between 16 and 23 degree celsius.

A work team comprising of officials from eight ministries, including civil affairs, health, transport and others, has rushed to the epicenter to direct quake-relief work.