CRI听力: Relief Materials to get Quake-hit Yushu

Despite the high altitude and unfavourable weather conditions, both of which are complicating rescue efforts in the quake-hit Yushu prefecture of northwest China's Qinghai Province, officials say they are confident they can deliver relief materials to quake survivors in time. Tingting has the details.



Food and drinking water, as well as weather-proof tents, quilts and clothes, are in short supply in the remote, mountainous town of Yushu in northwest China's Qinghai Province, which was flattened by the devastating earthquake earlier this week.

As of 5 p.m. Saturday, the 7.1-magnitude quake, which struck the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu on Wednesday morning, had killed 1,484 people and left 312l missing.

The quake had also left 12,088 injured, 1,394 severely, according to a spokesman for the rescue headquarters in Yushu.

Earlier, Xia Xueping, a spokesman for emergency rescue, said more than 330,000 square meters of residential housing collapsed. Local infrastructures were also badly damaged, with water supplies totally cut off and power supplies badly damaged.

Impoverished Yushu, home to 100,000 people, sits 4,000 meters above sea level. Night-time temperatures here can easily drop below freezing.

Geng Yang, provincial civil affairs chief, said that a lack of relief supplies is still the biggest problem. He said more than 20,000 charcoal stoves are on their way to the affected zone, to allow residents whose homes have been destroyed to cook food and stay warm.

National civil affairs authorities have prepared 41,540 tents, 159,240 cotton coats, 188,210 quilts, 100,000 portions of field food, 185 tons of food, 400 mobile homes, 20,000 camp beds, and 500 mobile toilets for the victims of the quake.

All relief supplies are currently en route to the quake zone.

But getting to Yushu, about 800km from provincial capital Xining, is difficult. Few planes can land at Yushu's small airport, and sandstorms sometimes stop the flow of trucks coming from Xining.

Despite these challenges, vice Transport Minister Gao Hongfeng said he is confident their transport mission will be a success.(www.hxen.net)

"Transport authorities have a great deal of experience dealing with such harsh conditions, and as such they are fully capable of carrying out operations."

Over the past three days, more than 10,000 soldiers, police, medical workers and volunteers have been mobilized nationwide to join the rescue operations. Thousands were pulled from the rubble, but many of the survivors were left out in the open air due to a lack of shelter and relief supplies.

For CRI News, I'm Tingting.