The authorities of the provinces affected by the earthquake that hit northwest China this Monday, leaving 131 dead, They stated this Wednesday that the rescue efforts for survivors “have basically ended.”
Crews will now focus on treating the injured and relocating affected residents after hours of intense workunder extreme cold of up to -14 degrees Celsius, reports the local press.
(Also read: Cold wave hinders rescue efforts in China after earthquake that leaves 127 dead).
On the other hand, the number of victims from the earthquake, which hit the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai, amounts to 131, according to the latest official count offered this Wednesday by the authorities. Of those 131 deaths, 113 were registered in Gansu and 18 in Qinghai, reports the state agency Xinhua.
Throughout Tuesday, rescue workers carried out search and rescue operations in several areas, in addition to repairing roads and infrastructure affected by the earthquake. Among them, firefighters, members of the Army and civilians who also tried to relocate those affected.
In response to the disaster, authorities sent supplies including 2,600 tents, 10,400 folding beds, 10,400 duvets and 1,000 sets of stoves.
However, The Paper reported that there is “a serious shortage” of tents to house the displaced, and that low temperatures are “a challenge that is putting relief efforts to the test.”
The Chinese Government and the Ministry of Emergency Management declared a level II response to the incident on Tuesday and allocated 200 million yuan (around 25 million euros) for assistance and recovery tasks.
To that figure must be added another 220 million (28.32 million euros) from the Ministries of Finance, Agriculture and Water Resources, and another 220 million from the National Development and Reform Commission.
The Communist Party (CCP) also allocated 100 million yuan (12.87 million euros) to repair educational facilities and support members of the organization.
(Keep reading: The shocking videos of the strong earthquake that occurred in China on December 18).
On the sidelines, the Chinese Government announced this Wednesday another 30 million yuan (3.87 million euros) from the Ministries of Finance and Transport to repair roads and infrastructure.
The earthquake occurred one minute before midnight on Monday, local time, on the border between the two aforementioned provinces, with a magnitude of 6.2, and especially affected Jishisan county in Gansu and Haidong city in neighboring Qinghai.
It is the deadliest earthquake in China since the one that occurred in August 2014 in the southern province of Yunnan, which left 617 dead, but a far cry from the one suffered in 2008 in the province of Sichuan, which left at least 70,000 dead.
(We recommend: China: at least 118 dead and more than 200 injured by strong earthquake of magnitude 6.2).
Hopes of finding survivors seem slim about thirty hours after the earthquake, even more so with the return of glacial temperatures in the region. Temperatures in Jishishan are expected to drop to -17C on Wednesday.
Northern China is in the grip of an unprecedented cold wave. The thermometer dropped to -33.2 ºC in a city in Shanxi province on Tuesday night.
EFE AND AFP
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