The No. 2 Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction
Corps confirmed Wednesday night that Tuesday's earthquake in Wushi
County, in northwest China's Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region, destroyed 5,800 rooms of 900
households affiliated with the division. No casualties have been
reported.
The earthquake partially damaged the homes of another 6,000
division families.
Some primary and middle schools have suspended classes for 10
days in order to repair the schoolrooms damaged in the
earthquake.
The division's Fourth Regiment is located near the epicenter of
the quake, which measured 6.2 on the Richter scale. Sources said
that 2,580 rooms of 430 families and 4,750 square meters of
livestock shelters were damaged.
Sun Yuliang, the regimental commander, said that 1,720 members
of the regiment affected by the quake have moved into the homes of
their relatives or other safe places.
A team consisting of workers from the State Seismological Bureau
and the Ministry of Civil Affairs arrived in Wushi Wednesday
afternoon to help with rescue operations.
The division has earmarked 1 million yuan (US$120,000) for aid
for the Fourth Regiment. One hundred tents and 10 tons of grain
have also been sent.
Two aftershocks, one measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale and the
other measuring 4.5, were detected at 7:16 PM and 7:34 PM on the
day of the main quake. Both tremors could be felt in Wushi County,
60 kilometers from the epicenter.
Located in southern Xinjiang, Wushi has a population of 180,000,
97 percent of whom are ethnic Uygurs.
The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, formerly a
military unit, has built a number of modern towns in the region.
The Corps employs more than 2.5 million people and operates more
than 1,500 enterprises and complete education, research, culture,
health, finance and insurance systems.
(Xinhua News Agency February 17, 2005)