Wen consoles victims of quakes
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E-mail Xinhua, September 9, 2012
Rescuers in Yunnan Province tried yesterday to reach remote communities rocked by back-to-back earthquakes that killed at least 80 people and damaged many thousands of buildings, while Premier Wen Jiabao called for rapid, all-out efforts to search for survivors.
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Premier Wen Jiabao (center) yesterday speaks with a teenage boy whose leg was hurt in earthquakes that rocked Yiliang County, Yunnan Province, on Friday. Rescuers tried yesterday to reach remote communities hit by the earthquakes. At least 80 people were killed in the quakes. |
Wen reached mountainous Yiliang County, one of the worst-hit areas, around 1am yesterday. He spent a sleepless night visiting quake survivors in villages and hospitals.
In a tent outside a hospital building, Wen visited a four-year-old girl who suffered a hand fracture and lost her grandfather in the quake after a falling boulder destroyed her family's home.
"(You) must hold on and take good care of the child," Wen told the girl's mother.
The central square of Yiliang is covered with tents and temporary shelters for those who have been relocated.
Two quakes measuring 5.7 and 5.6 on the Richter scale hit a border area near Yiliang and Weining County in Guizhou Province at 11:19am and 12:16pm on Friday. The quakes were followed by multiple aftershocks.
"The quakes are not over yet," Wen said. "Aftershocks continue, and within a period of time we will need to guard against secondary and geological hazards."
The national observatory has forecast rainy weather for the region over the next three days, which may hinder rescue efforts.
The observatory warned of possible rain-triggered geological disasters and urged local authorities to enhance monitoring.
As part of its efforts to ensure transportation for quake relief personnel and supplies, the Civil Aviation Administration yesterday ordered airlines to arrange flights and dispatch chartered flights if necessary to transport relief materials and personnel to the quake zone.
It has asked Yibin airport in Sichuan Province, the closest airport to Yiliang, to operate around-the-clock to handle aid flights.
The Ministry of Finance said it will allocate 1.05 billion yuan (US$165.6 million) in relief funds to the province. Friday's quakes have caused direct economic losses of 3.69 billion yuan in Yunnan and Guizhou, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said yesterday.
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