China has begun to systematize its Tangshan earthquake archives, including those about the 240,000 victims.  

The files being collected and organized include the quake forecast, natural conditions prior to the quake, casualties, losses, relief work, reconstruction, survivors' narratives and literary works, according to Yang Zhenqi, director of the Archives Bureau of Tangshan City.  

An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale razed Tangshan, in north China's Hebei Province, early in the morning of July 28, 1976, leaving 242,769 people dead and 164,851 critically injured. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the tragedy.  

The bureau's archives have not yet been organized in a systematic manner. "We need to preserve all the archives about the catastrophe in a coherent system," said Yang.  

There are about 10,000 files in the bureau, most of which are pictures, documents and audiovisual tapes illustrating the post-quake situation, according to Yang.  

The bureau will establish data about each victim, checking them street-by-street and village-by-village.  

"Many of the quake survivors are still alive, which makes it possible to collect the archives," said Yang, adding that if the work is not done now it will be more and more difficult to do it in the future.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2006)