Classes resume in quake-hit area of NW China

LANZHOU, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- After getting dressed and packing her school bag, Fan Yumiao was ready to wave goodbye to her parents in a makeshift house by 8 a.m. on Monday.

"I'm finally off to school today," said the 11-year-old.

After about a 10-minute walk, she arrived at a temporary tent school set up in a shelter in Shiyuan Township, northwest China's Gansu Province.

A week ago, at midnight, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked her home in the Bonan-Dongxiang-Salar Autonomous County of Jishishan in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, causing hundreds of casualties. Strong tremors were felt throughout the region, leveling buildings and destroying infrastructure, forcing many like Fan's family to move into makeshift shelters erected by local authorities to house displaced residents.

Timely and swift relief measures were soon in place, with efforts to treat injured people, restore disrupted transportation and guarantee sufficient supply of necessities.

Like Fan, students at nearly 200 temporary schools in Jishishan resumed classes on Monday.

Fan's new classroom, though tiny, had drawn more than 30 students. It was equipped with computers, a blackboard and access to the internet, while heating facilities were installed to counter biting outdoor cold as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius.

Their first lesson featured instructions on how to respond to an earthquake. "We conduct emergency drills for disasters such as earthquakes regularly at school," said Fan, adding that such lessons had proved useful in enabling her and her family to survive the recent quake.

According to Ma Yonghong, deputy director of the education bureau in Jishishan, multiple drills have been organized by the department since the fall semester of 2019 to improve disaster cognition and response, covering more than 60,000 students in over 240 schools.

Within about five minutes after the quake hit, over 14,000 students at all 13 local boarding schools had been evacuated in a safe and orderly manner.

The tent school Fan attends will only be used for one day. "New prefabricated houses have been built, and the students can have classes in warmer and brighter rooms tomorrow," said Zhang Qianqi, a dean at the school.

Zhang said the earthquake had caused three school buildings to crack, while adding that a restoration project will be launched during the upcoming winter vacation. "We hope the project will be finished before the students get back to school after the holiday."