Death toll from disaster stands at 86, with 35 still missing; supplies adequate
Rescuers transfer an injured earthquake victim to medical workers in Luding county, Sichuan province on Thursday. The injured, Luo Yong, is a power company employee who had been trapped for more than three days after the earthquake hit the county at noon on Monday. (HUA XIAOFENG / FOR CHINA DAILY)
Rescuers, relief materials and medical experts nationwide keep heading to Luding county, Sichuan province, where a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck on Monday.
As of Thursday noon, the death toll from the quake stood at 86, with 35 missing and more than 400 injured, Sichuan Provincial Government Information Office reported.
Tons of daily necessities have been dispatched nationwide to the town of Moxi, which is at the epicenter of the earthquake.
Zeng Haipeng, a volunteer who was unloading supplies and coordinating the transport of relief materials in Moxi, said that thanks to the support from across the country, the supplies are adequate.
"Before Thursday, we still needed to eat instant noodles. Now we have rice, oil and fresh vegetables," he said.
Many roads have been restored and reopened so that trucks can deliver goods, he said.
More than 1,000 green channels have been opened on expressways to vehicles bringing aid, and buildings have been assessed and divided into three safety levels, local authorities said.
The National Meteorological Center forecast that moderate to heavy rain will hit the disaster-stricken area on Friday, posing a high risk of further geological disasters.
Weather forecasters issued an orange warning, the second highest, for possible geological disasters in Luding, which can include landslides. A less severe yellow warning was issued for central and western Sichuan.
By Thursday morning, about 20,000 people had been transferred to safe places in Sichuan.
Intensive care specialists have traveled to the disaster-hit area to treat the wounded and 5G remote consultation has also been used to provide medical guidance, the National Health Commission said.
According to the Sichuan Ecology and Environment Department, environmental risks in the areas involved after the earthquake are controllable.
Water and atmospheric environmental quality have reached the standard, and nuclear and radiation-related facilities are operating normally.
So far, donations to the county totaled more than 92 million yuan ($13 million), according to China Central Television.
Chongqing University and Wuhan University have launched special funds to subsidize students affected by the disaster, according to the universities.
Contact the writers at lihongyang@chinadaily.com.cn