Chinese leaders, including Premier Wen Jiabao, Vice Premier Hui Liangyu and State Councilor Liu Yandong, have instructed relevant authorities to make all-out efforts in disaster relief work in quake-hit areas of southwestern China's Yunnan Province.
The 6.0-magnitude earthquake, followed by a series of aftershocks mainly centered in Yao'an and five other counties administered by Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, has caused one death, and injured 348 others.
Premier Wen and other leaders demanded that quake relief materials should be sent to the quake zones as soon as possible, and that people injured during the earthquake receive timely medical treatment.
Special attention should be paid to the safety of students, teachers, and school buildings in the quake zones, they said.
As of Saturday, China's ministries of finance and civil affairs have allocated 38 million yuan (about 5.56 million U.S. dollars) to the quake-hit area of Yunnan.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs also sent 5,000 tents and other relief materials to the province.
In the meantime, more than 1,000 Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers, armed police and fire brigade have been deployed in the quake zones to rescue residents buried under the rubble.
Life and production order in the quake zones is gradually becoming normal, according to local government.
(Xinhua News Agency July11, 2009)
