Quake in India affects Tibet, leaving 7 dead
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Xinhua, September 19, 2011
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A strong earthquake hit the northern Indian state of Sikkim on Sunday evening. |
Three seriously wounded victims were rushed to the People's Hospital in Tibet's Xigaze Prefecture, while 21 others with slight injuries are being treated at the People's Hospital of Yadong County, according to Ji Xiaopeng, secretary of the County Committee of the Communist Party of China.
The earthquake caused hundreds of landslides that have disrupted traffic and snarled power and water supply lines in Yadong County. The county borders Sikkim, the epicenter of the 6.9-magnitude quake.
However, telecommunication services have been restored in the county seat, Ji said.
Local authorities in Xigaze Prefecture, which administers Yadong, have mobilized workers to clear debris from major roads in order to ensure that relief supplies can reach affected areas. Road traffic to the Himalayan county resumed Monday morning.
The county's disease control and prevention center started disinfecting schools, hospitals, government buildings and other public areas on Monday morning to prevent epidemics. No epidemics have been reported as of Monday afternoon, according to Tonzhub, head of the center.
Reporters arriving in the county early Monday morning saw dozens of victims wrapped in cotton quilts camped out on streets, enduring rain and sleet.
Dianzin Namgyai, secretary of the Xigaze Prefecture committee of the Communist Party of China, visited seven townships in Yadong on Monday.
"Nearly 70 percent of the county's houses have been damaged," he said.
While visiting victims in the hard-hit village of Galingang, he said that all 156 houses in the village had been damaged, leaving all of the villagers homeless.
"Relief supplies are on the way to Yadong," he said, adding that 500 tents have been sent to the county.
Wang Changlin, principal of the Yadong County Middle School, said the school had to stop classes on Monday, as all 355 students were temporarily living in six tents.
According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the earthquake affected 13 counties in Tibet. The ministry sent a work team to Tibet on Monday morning to help carry out rescue and relief work.
Meanwhile, the Tibet Military Area Command has dispatched more than 1,000 officers, soldiers and paramilitary reserve forces to participate in the quake relief work. The command has also sent relief materials, including tents, food and medicine.
As of Monday morning, military rescuers have pulled 23 people out of the debris and dug out four bodies, according to the command. They have also given treatment to 50 injured people and evacuated more than 800 local residents.
Tibet's regional government allocated 10 million yuan (1.56 million U.S. dollars) in relief funds to the affected areas on Monday.
An emergency rescue and disaster relief group consisting of military troops, armed police and firefighters was set up Monday morning, with Padma Choling, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, acting as the group's coordinator. A medical team organized by the General Hospital of the Tibet Military Area Command will arrive at Yadong to treat others who have been injured.
Four temporary shelters have been set up in the county, providing shelter for about 2,000 local residents, according to Ji. Emergency supplies are still being transported to affected areas as road traffic resumes.
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