Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW
China
BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from
China's devastating earthquake rose by 1,278 to 41,353 as of noon on Wednesday,
according to the Information Office of the State Council.
Another 274,683 people were injured and there were
still 32,666missing in the aftermath of the 8.0-magnitude quake that hit
southwestern Sichuan Province on May 12.
With the increasing number of deaths and the coming
summer, the quake disaster regions are facing mounting pressure to prevent
epidemics though no epidemic outbreak or serious mass health accident had been
reported yet.
Thousands of medical workers are on the scene. Medical teams with about 45,000 members were working in all quake-hit counties and townships in Sichuan as of Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Health.
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Frontier defense soldiers from south China's Guangdong Province arrive in Jiepai, a remote town in Anxian County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on May 21, 2008. Guangdong frontier defense soldiers on Wednesday arrived in Yonghe and Jiepai, remote towns in Anxian County, to carry out rescue work including search for survivors, epidemic prevention and help residents in their reconstruction. (Xinhua Photo)
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Among them there were more than 5,200 people in
charge of epidemic prevention, and about 1,196 tonnes of disinfectants and
bactericides were distributed, the ministry said in a statement.
In seven out of the 11 worst-hit counties, sanitation
work has been fully implemented and in the other four, one third of the
townships have been covered.
According to local health departments, doctors found
58 cases of gas gangrene, a bacterial infection that produces gas within
gangrenous tissues, as of Sunday. But officials said the cases were not epidemic
and will not affect people without open wounds.
Meanwhile, rescuers are still fighting time to find
survivors.
According to the Department of General Staff of the
People's Liberation Army, rescuers saved and evacuated 396,811 people from the
quake-hit areas to safe places as of Wednesday noon, about 36,000 more than the
figure by Monday midnight.
A total of 6,452 survivors have been dug out from the
rubble since the rescue task started and 77 were rescued in the past 36 hours.
The Ministry of Health said that 3,424 people injured
in the quake had died in hospitals as of Wednesday noon.
The hospitals have taken in 59,394 injured people
since the quake. By noon on Wednesday, 30,289 people had recovered and been
discharged while 25,681 were still being treated, the ministry said.
Power had been restored in most parts of quake-hit
areas but Beichuan County, one of the worst hit ones, remained blacked out and
Hongyuan had seen its electricity cut off again due to aftershocks, the State
Electricity Regulatory Commission said in a statement.
Roads damaged in the quake totaled 28,829 kilometers,
and 19,645 km had been repaired and reopened to traffic as of Wednesday.
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Medical staffs and volunteers carry the
stretchers bearing the seriously-injured from the catastrophic quake at
the Xi'an Railway Station, in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province,
May 21, 2008. The first batch of 248 injured people from the quake-ravaged
areas in Sichuan Province were shifted in an exclusive train right away to
the Xijing, and Tangdu Hospitals, both affiliated to the No. 4 PLA
Military Medicine University upon their arrival in Xi'an.(Xinhua
Photo)
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Millions mourn China earthquake dead
with air sirens wailing in grief
BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Millions of people in
China and overseas observed three minutes silence at 2:28 p.m. Monday to mourn
thousands of people killed in an earthquake which hit the nation's southwest a
week ago.
Chinese President Hu Jintao, top legislator Wu
Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao, and other top leaders including Jia Qinglin, Li
Changchun, Xi Jinping, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang also stood in silence in
the central government compound of Zhongnanhai in Beijing. Full story
China begins three-day mourning for
quake victims
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Citizens mourn around candles during a
memorial ceremony in Nanning, capital of southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region, May 19, 2008. China began on Monday a three-day
mourning for the victims of the 8.0-magnitude quake on Richter scale
hitting southwest and northwest China on May 12.(Xinhua
Photo)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday began a three-day national mourning
for the tens of thousands of people killed in a powerful earthquake which struck
the country's southwest on May 12.
At 4:58 a.m., the national flag at the Tian'anmen Square
in downtown Beijing flew at half-mast after a complete flag-raising ceremony. Full story
National flags at Chinese diplomatic
missions fly at half-mast in mourning for quake victims
BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese embassies
and consulates in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia,
New Zealand and other countries flew Chinese national flags at half-mast on
Monday morning in mourning for victims in the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan,
China. Full story
Magnitude of SW China earthquake
revised to 8.0
BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The China
Seismological Bureau (CSB) Sunday revised the magnitude of southwest China
earthquake from 7.8 to 8.0 on the Richter scale. Full story
Chinese President expresses gratitudes
for foreign aid in quake relief
CHENGDU, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President
Hu Jintao Saturday night expressed gratitude to foreign countries and people who
have offered aid since a major earthquake struck the country. Full story
President Hu renews call to save lives
in remote villages
CHENGDU, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President
Hu Jintao on Saturday urged rescue teams to reach remote villages that were
battered by the strong earthquake in the southwestern Sichuan Province as soon
as possible. Full story
Chinese President encourages quake
victims to overcome difficulties
BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President
Hu Jintao Friday went to Beichuan County of Mianyang City to visit people
affected by the southwest China earthquake, encouraging them to be confident in
overcoming hardships caused by the disaster. Full story
Chinese Premier stresses all-out efforts to rescue quake
victims
BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao on Saturday underscored unremitting efforts in searching and rescuing
people buried in debris in the earthquake in southwestern Sichuan Province. Full story
