Latest Developments of Wenchuan Earthquake Relief

2008年5月29日 (8.0级汶川大地震发生之后第17天)
Released with the authorization of the State Council Quake Relief Headquarters

According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, as of midday Thursday, May 29th, The confirmed death toll of Wenchuan earthquake had risen to 68,516, with 365,399 injured and 19,350 missing. 45,546,065 people were affected by the 8.0-magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks, and 15,146,840 had been relocated. Donations from home and abroad to China's quake-hit areas had reached 37.307 billion yuan (5.33 billion U.S. dollars), with 27.990 billion yuan (US$4.0 billion) of cash in place and 10.403 billion yuan (US$1.49 billion) in cash and relief materials forwarded to the earthquake-affected areas. Some 619,400 tents, 3.9976 million quilts, 9.2092 million items of clothing as well as 520,000 tonnes of fuel oil and 1.07 million tonnes of coal had been transported and delivered to the quake-affected areas. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Construction, as of Wednesday May 28th, 2,500 temporary homes had been set up in the quake zone and 4,600 were being set up, with 12,400 awaiting installation, 20,400 being transported and 31,200 to be transported from places of their manufacturers. According to the PLA General Staff Headquarters, as of Wednesday (May 28th) midnight, disaster relief workers had managed to rescue and relocate 739,034 people to safe areas, and to dig 6,541 survivors from ruined buildings.  According to the Ministry of Health, as of 12:00 noon May 29 (Thursday), hospitals had treated a total of 87,391 people injured in the earthquake, of whom 56,580 had been treated and discharged, while 15,388 remained hopitalized. 7,659 had been transferred from Sichuan to other parts of China for further treatment. According to China Seismological Bureau, From Wednesday noon to midday Thursday, no aftershocks measuring at or above 4.0 on the Richter scale were monitored while 219 feeble shocks below magnitude 3.9 were detected in the areas close to epicenter. As of midday Thursday, 9,130 aftershocks of various magnitudes have been detected in the quake zone. 187 aftershocks measuring at or above 4.0 on Richter scale had been monitored, of which 30 were measured at or above 5 in magnitude, and 5 were measured 6.0 or higher. According to the Ministry of Finance, as of 2:00 p.m. Thursday, May 29th, the government disaster relief fund for quake-stricken areas had hit 20.938 billion yuan (3 billion U.S. dollars). The fund included 16.686 billion yuan from the central budget and 4.252 billion yuan from the local budget. According to State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC), midday May 29th, as a result of latest aftershock-caused landslides in Xiaojin County, Aba Prefecture, 4 towns and villages were again without electricity. Power is yet to be restored in Beichuan Township and at least 16 other towns and villages in the quake zone. According to China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), as of Thursday morning, May 29th, 98.2% of banking service offices in the quake-hit areas have resumed operation, with 238 offices' operation still suspended.

According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, as of midday Wednesday, May 28th, The confirmed death toll of Wenchuan earthquake had risen to 68,109, with 364,552 injured and 19,851 missing. 45,612,765 people were affected by the 8.0-magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks, and 15,006,341 had been relocated. Donations from home and abroad to China's quake-hit areas had reached 34.787 billion yuan (4.97 billion U.S. dollars), with 25.898 billion yuan (US$3.7 billion) of cash in place and 9.781 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) in cash and relief materials forwarded to the earthquake-affected areas. 601,900 tents, 3.8661 million quilts, 8.7573 million items of clothing as well as 480,000 tonnes of fuel oil and 1.01 million tonnes of coal had been transported and delivered to the quake-affected areas. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Construction, as of Tuesday May 27th, 1,900 temporary homes had been set up in the quake zone and 4,400 were being set up, with 10,800 awaiting installation, 19,100 being transported and 24,400 to be transported from localities of their manufacturers. According to the Operations Department of PLA General Staff Headquarters, as of Tuesday (May 27th) midnight, disaster relief workers had managed to rescue and relocate 724,794 people to safe areas, and to dig 6,541 survivors from ruined buildings. Aircraft used for quake relief had flown 4,802 sorties. Motor vehicles had been used for 461,189 times, and 92,150 train carriages had also been involved.  According to the Ministry of Health, as of 12:00 noon May 28 (Wednesday), hospitals had treated a total of 85,722 people injured in the earthquake, of whom 55,514 had been treated and discharged, while 15,394 remained hopitalized. 6,928 had been transferred from Sichuan to other parts of China for further treatment. Disaster relief efforts had involved a total of 92,131 medical workers, including foreign medical teams comprising 220 members. According to China Seismological Bureau, From Tuesday noon to midday Wednesday, 5 aftershocks measuring at or above 4.0 on the Richter scale were monitored, 2 of which were between 5.0 and 5.9 in magintude, while 238 feeble shocks below magnitude 3.9 were detected in the areas close to epicenter. As of midday Wednesday, 8,911 aftershocks of various magnitudes have been detected in the quake zone. As of 12:00 noon May 28 (Wednesday), 187 aftershocks measuring at or above 4.0 on Richter scale had been monitored, of which 30 were measured at or above 5 in magnitude, and 5 were measured 6.0 or higher. According to the Ministry of Finance, as of 2:00 p.m. May 28 (Wednesday), the government disaster relief fund for quake-stricken areas had hit 19.557 billion yuan. The fund included 15.385 billion yuan from the central budget and 4.172 billion yuan from the local budget. According to State Electricity Regulatory Commission, midday May 28th, electricity power had been restored in Ruo'ergai County while some towns and villages in 9 other counties, including Beichuan Township, still had no electricity. So far, power had been restored in 45 counties in Sichuan province. According to China Insurance Regulatory Commission, by Tuesday, May 27th, insurance companies had received 202,000 claims for compensation for quake-related losses, and the insurers had paid 110-million-yuan indemnities.

www.sina.com.cn  [English] [Chinese] [Photos]