China's economic hub of Shanghai has begun building a system of public earthquake shelters.

The municipal government will also establish an earthquake rescue team by the end of the year to provide first aid for the seriously injured and relief for people affected by possible disasters.

The shelter scheme was revealed at a commemoration ceremony on Wednesday to mark the 30th anniversary of the Tangshan earthquake, which claimed 240,000 lives when it shook the northern industrial city in Hebei Province with 1.3 million people on July 28, 1976.

The first shelter is under construction in a park on Dalian Road, an official with the local seismological bureau said.

It is expected to be completed next year and more shelters will be constructed later to serve the city's 17.78 million people, said the official.

The shelter is being built above ground among trees and rockeries and away from tall buildings. In an emergency, it would have independent water and electricity supply systems, wireless telecommunications, blankets and tents.

It is still unclear how many people the building would be able to accommodate.

The lack of earthquake planning in buildings contributed to the great destruction of the Tangshan quake, which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, said Zhang Jun, head of the Shanghai seismological Bureau.

Zhang said Shanghai would include quake-proof design in city planning and enhance supervision.

Shanghai is far from the earthquake belt along the Pacific rim in the east and more than 400 kilometers from the nearest onshore quake-prone areas in the west. However, it could be affected by strong and medium-scale earthquakes in nearby areas, said Zhang.

More than 10 earthquakes have occurred around Shanghai since 1970.

The municipal government has set up a digital earthquake monitoring network and China's first fixed, permanent and broadband earthquake monitoring system.

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2006)