The death toll in the two strong earthquakes that hit northwest China Saturday night rose to eight as of 10 am Sunday morning, as bodies of four people, who had been missing and were believed buried in rubbles of collapsed buildings, have been found, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.
More than 29 others were wounded in the earthquakes that struck two counties in the far northwestern province of Gansu, according to the ministry.
The earthquakes, measuring 6.1 degrees and 5.8 degrees on the Richter scale, jolted areas between Minle and Shandan counties of Zhangye City in Gansu Province at 20:41 and 20:48 Saturday. According to the Chinese seismological monitoring network, the epicenters of the quakes are located at 38.4 degrees north latitude, 101.2 degrees east longitude, and 38.4 degrees north latitude and 101.1 degrees east longitude.
Sources from the Gansu provincial seismological bureau said that 30 percent of the houses in the epicenters have been severely damaged.
The latest report from the bureau says that 90 percent of the buildings in Yaozhaizi village, Yonggu Township of Minle County, have collapsed in the quakes.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice Premier Hui Liangyu have instructed the Ministry of Civil Affairs to respond in a quick and full manner.
The ministry said over 10,000 residential rooms collapsed, and it has sent 2,000 cotton-padded tents for victims in the quake-hit regions where night temperatures would drop below zero Celsius degree.
Li Xueju, Civil Affair Minister, has ordered a rescue work group, led by Yan Zhizhuang, deputy director of the ministry's disaster relief center, to organize rescue operation in the quake-hit regions.
Relief materials will be immediately shipped to help local people, according to the ministry.
The epicenters are about 500 kilometers northwest to Lanzhou, capital of Gansu.
The Gansu provincial government and the State Seismological Bureau have jointly sent a task force to the quake-torn area Sunday morning.
(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2003)
