CRI听力：Experts Report on May 12th Earthquake's Reconstruction Work

Experts say that reconstruction work of the May 12th Wenchuan earthquake affected areas in and around Southwest China's Sichuan province should be well thought out with more attention being paid to possible future quakes. Our reporter Liao Jibo brings us more.(Www.hxen.net)

Reporter:

At a Thursday press conference in Beijing, Ma Zongjin, director of the "National Wenchuan Earthquake Expert Committee", briefed on the latest conditions and results of field investigations in Wenchuan County.

The director says that priority in the reconstruction work should be given to reinforcing damaged or destroyed public facilities.

"The government and relevant departments have to conduct massive research to choose the proper location for schools and hospitals and carefully think about the construction materials that will be used in the future."

Frequent aftershocks are also alarming. Here is committee member Dong Shuwen.

"Besides the earthquake, we also have to take into account those secondary disasters to set up a proper Seismic fortification standard. For instance after the May 12th earthquake, over fifteen thousand secondary disasters occurred, causing further damage, landslides and mudflows."

Experts have predicted that strong aftershocks in and around Sichuan Province may continue, but the possibility of another 6.5 magnitude quake anytime soon is slim.

The expert also admitted some human and economic losses might be related to the quality of some buildings damaged in the earthquake. The official Ma Zongjin said the problems could have happened because some school rooms were built too fast without regard to quality in recent years.

It is feared the death toll in the 8.0-magnitude earthquake will top 87,000.

According to the Information Office of the State Council, direct economic losses attributed to the May 12th earthquake have exceeded 840 billion yuan, or about $120 billion US dollars.

Liao Jibo, CRI news.