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UPDATED: August 18, 2010 NO. 33 AUGUST 19, 2010
Muddy Misery
Resources are pooled into a landslide-devastated county in China's northwest to lift it out of disaster
By LI LI
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RACING AGAINST TIME: On August 9, rescuers carrying a stretcher with a landslide victim on it run to the nearest hospital in Zhouqu County, which was devastated by deadly landslides and floods (XING GUANGLI)

According to the Ministry of Health, a field medical team was established in Zhouqu hours after the mudslide to provide medical and epidemic prevention services.

The ministry announced at a State Council Information Office press conference on August 11 that 47 medical teams, with 779 members, were in Zhouqu treating patients, sterilizing the environment and drinking water and ensuring proper disposal of victims' corpses.The ministry also said there had been no reports of an epidemic outbreak or public health incidents.

People with serious injuries have been transferred out of Zhouqu to places with better-equipped hospitals in Gansu. On August 9, the first batch of 20 transferred patients arrived at Lanzhou, Gansu's capital city, by helicopter and were immediately hospitalized in large hospitals.

The first batch of 35 workers sent by the State Grid Corp. to repair the power supply facilities arrived at the county seat on August 8. That evening, power to the county's temporary settlement centers, hospitals, two middle schools and communications base stations was resumed. By 4 p.m. on August 10, all power facilities in dry areas were back in operation and power was available to more than 70 percent of users.

By August 9, telecom services had resumed in Zhouqu, thanks to timely repair.

Twelve hours after the disaster, all blocked roads leading to Zhouqu were reopened, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Besides sending experts to Zhouqu to help prevent epidemics caused by dead animals and to formulate plans to restore local agricultural production, the MOA has also sent 80 tons of disinfectant, 2,000 sets of sanitizing equipment and 20,000 sets of protective gear.

 High-level attention

Immediately following the disaster, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao instructed the Gansu Provincial Government and other related departments to spare no efforts to save lives.

On August 10, Hu presided over a meeting, about the relief work, of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee. The meeting called for local governments to use more measures and to take advantage of every second in order to save those trapped by the mudslides and to dutifully conduct all relief work.

On the afternoon of August 8, the China National Committee for Disaster Reduction, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Civil Affairs raised the national disaster relief response level to grade II, the second highest designation.

On the same day, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced that it had allocated 500 million yuan ($73.5 million) in emergency aid to fund the rescue efforts. MOF officials said the money will support relocation and relief efforts for victims, hygiene and disease control, reconstruction of local infrastructure, rebuilding of houses and the clearing of the barrier lake which was formed by the massive mudslide.

"For those who were buried under the debris, now is the most crucial time to save their lives," Wen, who arrived at Zhouqu on the afternoon of August 8, said during a meeting held at the county government.

He said the search and rescue work must not be halted so long as the possibility of finding survivors exists.

Wen also demanded that traffic, power supply and telecom in the county be resumed as soon as possible.

Wen went to a rescue site where 10 soldiers from the PLA Lanzhou Military Area Command were removing two people trapped under debris. Wen told the trapped people to hold on and encouraged the hard working soldiers.

Delaying his return, Wen continued his inspection in Zhouqu on August 9. "Currently the key tasks and challenges are expanding the scope for search and rescue, dealing with the barrier lake, which was created by mudslides, in a timely and scientific manner, cleaning the sludge, and resuming the supply of drinking water," Wen said while inspecting a search and rescue scene.

Before his departure on the afternoon of August 9, he also visited seriously injured patients at the county hospital and assured them that 60 beds had been readied in three hospitals at Lanzhou and that they would soon be transferred there.

Basic Information on Gannan

Covering an area of 45,000 square km, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, located in the southwestern corner of Gansu Province, administers seven counties and one city. The altitude in Gannan ranges from 1,100 meters to 4,900 meters, but most areas are above 3,000 meters.

Gannan's total population of 680,000 belongs to 24 ethnic groups, of which the largest group, 378,500 Tibetan people, accounts for 55.6 percent of the population. Occupationally, about 80 percent of the population are farmers or herdsmen. Gannan has pastures totaling 2.72 million hectares, accounting for 70.28 percent of the total land area. In 2009, Gannan's GDP was 5.08 billion yuan ($747.2 million), up by 13.2 percent from the previous year.

Zhouqu County covers 3,010 square km and has a population of 134,700, about 33 percent of which are Tibetans. It is located in the southeast part of the prefecture.

(Source: www.gn.gansu.gov.cn)

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