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China allocates 2.2 bn yuan for quake relief
August 7, 2014, 5:26 am

A staff member from Yunnan Construction Group adds direct drinkong water to a water tank in a temporary settlement after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake in Ludian County of Zhaotong, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Aug. 6, 2014 [Xinhua]

A staff member from Yunnan Construction Group adds direct drinkong water to a water tank in a temporary settlement after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake in Ludian County of Zhaotong, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Aug. 6, 2014 [Xinhua]

The Chinese government has allocated an additional 1.6 billion yuan ($259.64 million) late on Wednesday, taking the total to 2.2 billion yuan, for quake relief efforts in Yunnan Province, according to a statement from the National Committee for Disaster Reduction even as the death toll reached nearly 600.

A total of 600 million yuan had already been allocated to the quake zone.

As of Wednesday, the 6.5-magnitude earthquake that struck Ludian County in Yunnan Province had caused 589 deaths and injured more than 2800 people. 230000 people have been evacuated while more than 80000 homes have been destroyed.

Rescuers are still continuing to comb through quake rubble in southwest China, well after the critical 72 hours when finding survivors becomes much less likely.

Chinese military engineers, recruits and police officers have aided in rescuing people from the rubble of buildings and homes destroyed.

State media reports earlier on Tuesday also warned that landslides triggered by the quake was creating rapidly growing bodies of water that could unleash more destruction on survivors.

“A huge quake lake containing more than 3,000 cubic metres (106,000 cubic feet) of water has inundated dozens of homes and continues to threaten nearby villages,” state-run Xinhua quoted Chinese officials as saying.

This was the region’s strongest quake in 14 years.

TBP and Agencies