The State Disaster Relief Commission has initiated a "Level II emergency contingency plan" to cope with Monday's strong earthquake in southwest China.

According to China's regulations, natural disasters in the country are classified into four categories based on their severity.

The Level II emergency contingency plan covers the second most serious class of natural disasters.

Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Chengdu Monday afternoon by plane and was on the way to the quake-hit county of Wenchuan by press time, 100 kilometers away from the capital city of Sichuan, to direct the rescue work.

A team of experts from the State Disaster Relief Commission and the Civil Affairs Ministry will also go to the disaster areas for relief work.

The Civil Affairs Ministry has allocated 5,000 tents to quake-hit areas in Sichuan.

A quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale jolted Wenchuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 2:28 p.m. Monday, resulting in at 107 deaths reported so far.

Tremors were also reported in Ningxia, Qinghai, Gansu, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Yunnan, Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan and Jiangsu provinces, the the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, and the Tibet Autonomous Region, the State Seismological Bureau said.

Troops sent to quake area

China's Chengdu Military Area Command has dispatched 5,000 troops and armed police to help with disaster relief work in earthquake-stricken Wenchuan County, in the southwestern Sichuan Province.

Tian Yixiang, an officer with the emergency office of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), said the troops would assist local authorities in gauging the situation and helping with disaster relief work.

The Military Area Command sent two helicopters to Wenchuan on Monday afternoon.

Armed police forces stationed in Sichuan province ha dispatched 2,900 personnel, while regular army personnel made up the rest of the detachment.

A major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale jolted Wenchuan at 2:28 p.m. Monday, the State Seismological Bureau said. The epicenter of the quake was located 31 degrees north and 103.4 degrees east.

Tremors were also reported in Ningxia, Qinghai, Gansu, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Yunnan, Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan and Jiangsu provinces, the Shanghai and Chongqing Municipalities, and the Tibet Autonomous Region, the State Seismological Bureau said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 12, 2008)