Two earthquakes, which struck two counties in northwest China's Gansu Province on Saturday, forced people to take shelter in wheat stacks and makeshift shelters overnight and put them in desperate need of tents and food, a local official supervising the relief operation said Monday.

The two quakes which registered 5.8 and 6.1 on the Richter scale, rumbled through Minle and Shandan counties in Zhangye Prefecture in Gansu.

More than 10 buses as well as all 20 cars belonging to the Minle local government were sent to Yaozaizi village in the county, the epicenter of the quakes, with relief provisions for the local people to protect them from the cold, as the temperature can drop to minus 8 C at night at this time of year there.

A total of 2,000 cotton tents as well as 3,200 items of clothing, and 200 packages of instant noodles have reached Minle County, the hardest-hit area, said Zhou Minxia, a publicity official from Minle County.

The central government has earmarked 7 million yuan (US$846,400) for initial relief work.

The Red Cross Society of China has dispatched relief materials worth 300,000 yuan (US$36,000) to the disaster-stricken area, including food, clothing and cotton quilts.

Ma Man Kei, vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, yesterday donated HK$100,000 (US$12,900) to help the people caught in the disaster, according to Xinhua.

A report from the Gansu provincial civil affairs bureau said nine people were confirmed dead and a total of 43 were injured, six of them seriously.

Local government estimates the economic losses at about 327 million yuan (US$40 million). About16, 000 head of livestock has been killed and 10,000 homes leveled.

As well, 5,800 acres of farm land were affected, but the quakes caused no serious damage to crops, as most crops in this mountainous area were harvested earlier in the month.

(China Daily October 28, 2003)