国内英语新闻:Quake survivors must have warm houses for winter: Chinese official

BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu has urged local governments and builders to ensure quake survivors in northwestern province of Qinghai have warm places to stay this winter.

"It's a priority for the government to build more permanent houses so quake survivors can move in before winter," Hui said at a State Council, or Cabinet, meeting in Beijing on Thursday, according to a statement released after the meeting.

At the same time the government must start preparing enough tents, fuels and stoves for winter heating for those living in temporary shelters as soon as possible, he said.

Winter temperatures in high-altitude Yushu region, where a 7.1-magnitude quake on April 14 killed about 2,200 people, could drop to 20 degrees below zero.

Hui also urged efforts to provide enough food, improve medical services,and attend to the needs of vulnerable groups like orphans in the quake zone.

The reconstruction in the quake zone would be mainly funded by the central government. Hui urged builders, mainly from other parts of China to aid Qinghai's reconstruction efforts, to carefully carry out rebuilding projects with high efficiency and quality.