The Provincial Government of Jiangxi in east China decided to end the state of earthquake emergency response at wee hours Monday and began post-earthquake relief and construction.

The province enacted the emergency response scheme on November 26, when the earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale struck a region between Jiujiang, a well-known summer resort on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and Ruichang City, both in the province.

According to the forecast by the China National Seismic Observation Network, the possibility of further aftershocks is unlikely. The provincial government, consequently, decided to carry out post-earthquake construction and disaster relief.

A cold front from Siberia reached the quake-stricken province on Monday. Temperature tonight is to drop to one degree Celsius below zero. Some victims are still living in tents, as many residential buildings failed to meet the national safety standards after the jolt.

The quake affected Jiangxi, Hubei and Anhui provinces, killing 13 people.

(Xinhua News Agency December 6, 2005)