Death Toll of Xinjiang Earthquake Rises to 261

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, February 25, 2003

Death Toll of Xinjiang Earthquake Rises to 261

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A total of 261 people have been confirmed killed in a devastating earthquake that jolted Jiashi and Bachu counties in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China, on Monday morning, the latest statistics have shown.

A special emergency team sent by the State Council has arrived at the earthquake-affected zone of southwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to organize rescue and relief efforts.

The team is headed by You Quan, deputy secretary general of the State Council. Wang Lequan, secretary of the regional committee of the Communist Party of China, and Ismail Tiliwaldi, chairman of the regional government, have also arrived there.

Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao and other leaders of the CPC central committee and the State Council contacted the regional government of Xinjiang by telephone on Monday shortly after the earthquake, to assess the losses and rescue efforts.

The Party Central Committee and the State Council have also sent a message to the Xinjiang regional Party committee and government, people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, the People's Liberation Army and armed police, asking them to work hard to save lives and property, resume production and restore normality to daily life.

China Seismological Bureau director Song Ruixiang and Civil Affairs Vice-Minister Yang Yanyin have also flown to Xinjiang.

In addition, a 50-member state rescue team set out for Xinjiangon Monday and rushed to the earthquake-hit areas on arriving at Kashi City Tuesday morning.

The first work team sent by the China Seismological Bureau is busy monitoring aftershocks, and investigating casualties and economic losses there.

Relief officials said Tuesday that a total of 8,861 houses and 900 classrooms collapsed in the massive quake that measured 6.8 on the Richter Scale.

The Kashi Prefectural government immediately sent leading officials to direct rescue efforts at the disaster areas. On Monday alone, 1,100 soldiers, 200 armed police, and more than 200 public security officers and policemen joined in the rescue efforts.

Twelve medical teams, consisting of 160 medical workers, have also arrived in the quake-jolted areas.

Shi Dagang, secretary of the Kashi Prefectural Committee of the Communist Party of China, said there is at least one county-level cadre in each village in the disaster area to direct rescue efforts and help quake victims build tents.

Reports from quake-jolted counties and cities show that the quake injured only one person and damaged more than 1,000 houses in Jiashi County, with no reports of deaths. One was killed in Markit County.

Most of the deaths, injuries and damages were reported in Bachu County.

Rescue officials said that currently at least 5,000 more tents are urgently needed in the disaster areas as temperatures in the area still hover around zero. By Monday evening, a total of 600 tents and anti-cold medicine had been sent to the disaster areas.

Memet Yasheng, director of the regional public health bureau, said that pharmaceutical companies in Kashi Prefecture transported100,000 yuan worth of medicine to the disaster areas Monday afternoon. Two hospitals in the prefecture have fully prepared to treat people injured in the quake.

Zhang Yunfeng, director of the regional seismological bureau, said aftershocks have continued in the disaster zone and quakes measuring five to six degrees are expected in the area in the near future.

An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale hit the Jiashiand Bachu area in 1998.

Xinhua has learned that the Lanzhou Military Area Command, Xinjiang Military Area Command and Nanjiang (southern Xinjiang) Military Area Command have sent 1,140 soldiers and 120 trucks to join the rescue efforts. They also donated more than 1.3 million yuan (157,000 US dollars) worth of relief materials and 2.05 million yuan (247,000 US dollars) in cash to disaster victims.

Earthquakes are common in China.

Xinjiang accounts for about one-eighth of China's territory but is sparsely populated with about 20 million people living in the region.

The earthquake is the most serious since 1949 in the quake-prone region, where nearly 20 earthquakes have been recorded in the past few years.

China's worst earthquake since 1949 struck Tangshan, North China's Hebei Province, in 1976, killing more than 240,000 people.

Chronology of major earthquakes in Jiashi, Bachu of Xinjiang

Since 1996, over 19 earthquakes measuring five or above on the Richter scale have hit Jiashi and Bachu counties in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

At least 309 people were killed, and over 2,000 were injured inthese disasters, which caused over 1.4 billion yuan (169 million US dollars) in economic losses.

The chronology of major earthquakes in the two areas since 1996goes as following:

March 19, 1996: twenty four dead and 128 injured in an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale in Jiashi and Artus areas. Over 300,000 people were affected, with 390 million yuan (46.98 million US dollars) in direct economic losses.

Jan. 21, 1997: twelve dead and 44 injured in a quake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale in Jiashi. Over 240,000 people were affected, with economic losses of 382 million yuan (46 million US dollars).

April 6 to 16, 1997: eight dead and 62 injured in earthquakes measuring six and five in Jiashi. Over 250,000 people were affected, with economic losses of 468 million yuan (56.4 million US dollars).

January to June, 1997: Jiashi was hit by 14 earthquakes measuring five or above on the Richter scale.

Aug. 2 and 27, 1998: Jiashi hit by earthquakes measuring six and 6.6, three people dead and 21 injured, with 178 million yuan (21.4 million US dollars) in economic losses.

Feb. 24, 2003: a quake measuring 6.8 jolted Bachu and Jiashi counties, killing 262 people and injuring more than 2,000.

By People's Daily Online

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