Chinese state councilor stresses all-out relief after quakes hit

Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong, who also leads the State Council's earthquake relief headquarters, presides over a meeting to arrange disaster relief work in Beijing, capital of China, May 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong on Saturday demanded all-out efforts to organize relief work and rescue the injured after earthquakes hit the provinces of Yunnan and Qinghai.

People's lives should be taken as the top priority, said Wang, who also leads the State Council's earthquake relief headquarters.

Work groups and disaster relief forces have been dispatched soon after the quakes, Wang said at a meeting to arrange disaster relief work, stressing real-time monitoring to verify the disaster situation.

He also demanded more efforts to search for trapped people and rescue the injured.

Those affected by the quakes should be relocated and their basic needs should be met, Wang said.

He also urged urgent repairs of the damaged roads and bridges, noting that crucial infrastructure should be kept working.

Information related to the disasters should be released in a timely manner, he added.

Four earthquakes with a magnitude over 5.0 struck Yangbi Yi Autonomous County in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday. At 2:04 a.m. on Saturday, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake jolted Maduo County in the Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province.