An emergency rescue team is expected to fly to the Tibet Autonomous Region today to assess and aid two earthquake-stricken counties, a China Seismological Bureau official said Monday. Included on the team are situation analysts, as well as prediction and communications experts.

A powerful earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale jolted Zhongba and Coqen counties at 7:08 AM Monday. As of Monday night there had been no word of casualties.

"The quake-hit areas are basically uninhabited and communications conditions are poor," said Xu Deshi, chief of the bureau's earthquake disaster emergency response department.

Most of the residents of the mountainous area are nomadic herders.

The epicenter in Longger Township of Zhongba County is 680 kilometers west of the regional capital of Lhasa.

Zhongba County magistrate Toinzhub said an accurate report on deaths, injuries and damage will not be available for at least two weeks, since transportation in the area is extremely difficult. It takes a full day to drive from the Zhongba county seat to Longger Township.

Lobsang Lhunzhub, head of Longger Township, said officials are scouring villages to look for possible casualties or damage.

The township is situated at 5,000 meters above sea level in the Gangdise mountain range.

The Tibet temblor coincided with an International Conference on Continental Earthquakes in Beijing, where more than 240 experts from 42 countries gathered Monday to discuss emergency management and insurance.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said China, an earthquake-prone country, has intensified its efforts to reduce seismic risks and enhance public awareness of disaster reduction.

Salvano Briceno, director of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, said it is imperative to increase people's understanding of earthquake phenomena and the development of technology to identify and reduce vulnerabilities that are at the origin of disasters.

"Earthquakes continue to hit areas where people are neither prepared nor alerted," he said.

(China Daily July 13, 2004)