XINING: In less than three days following the 7.4 magnitude earthquake in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, the task force sent by the Ministry of Emergency Management said the rescue work is almost complete, and relief work is underway.
The province on Tuesday opened a hotline so that affected residents can call to report their losses and difficulties that need addressing.
Power and water supplies have resumed at makeshift shelters, and all elementary and high schools in Maduo County resumed classes from Monday.
The earthquake, which jolted Maduo County in the Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture at 2:04 a.m. Saturday, left 18 people slightly injured and disrupted the lives of over 32,000 residents from 26 townships in Golog and the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
The figures are in contrast to 11 years ago, when a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Yushu, flattening the plateau town of Gyegu and killing more than 2,600 people.
In addition to the fact that the Golog earthquake occurred in sparsely populated pastoral areas, improved housing conditions — an outcome of local poverty alleviation efforts — very probably minimized the casualties and asset losses.
As of 3 p.m. Monday, 893 houses were damaged in the epicenter of Huanghe Township, with no collapses. At an altitude of 4,300 meters, the township is home to over 3,000 residents.
“Better housing has demonstrated the achievement of targeted poverty alleviation efforts,” said Tian Caixiu, head of the poverty alleviation and development bureau of Maduo County.
Tian said the county had over 1,700 registered impoverished households as of 2015, and the houses of herders were mostly clay and wood structures.
Between 2016 and 2017, more than 1,500 poor households moved to new homes as part of China’s relocation efforts for poverty alleviation. The new brick and concrete houses can withstand an 8-magnitude earthquake.
The government poured 585 million yuan (91.3 million U.S. dollars) into the infrastructure of the relocation projects. – Agencies
