All the people displaced by a strong earthquake in Xinjiang have been properly settled, and nonedied of cold or hunger, Chairman Ismail Tiliwaldi of the northwestern Uygur autonomous region said Sunday.
"There is neither epidemic outbreak nor school dropout," said the chairman who is here attending the on-going first session of the 10th National People's Congress, the national legislature.
An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale ripped through Jiashi and Bachu counties in western Xinjiang, claiming the lives of 268 people and injuring more than 4,000 others. More than 1,000of them still stay at hospital but in good conditions. The quake also killed more than 60,000 head of livestock and flattened 8,000 houses, including schools.
"The real losses are yet to be determined when professional assessments are made," he said.
At present, all the disaster-stricken people are living in cotton tents, and schools have resumed classes. "With the resumption of water and electricity supply, the local people are arranging production and daily life in an organized way, and work has begun on watering cotton fields," he said.
The central authorities have shown great concern over the disaster-stricken people and ordered relief in details. Donations including 80 million yuan (9.7 million US dollars) in cash and 20 million yuan (2.42 million US dollars) worth of materials have arrived at the quake-stricken areas.
The area around Jiashi County has been hit by five earthquakes measuring 5.0 and above since 1996, and the total losses amounted to 1.4 billion yuan (169 million US dollars).
(People's Daily March 10, 2003)
