Chinese Premier visits quake-affected areas, asks relief teams to ensure safety of distressed people

Beijing: Chinese Premier Li Qing has asked the rescue and relief teams to make sure that people in the quake-hit areas live through the winter safely as he visited the affected villages in northwest China.

Li visited several villages in Jishishan County of Gansu province as well as Minhe County in the neighbouring Qinghai province on Saturday.

The region was struck by a 6.2-magnitude earthquake at midnight Monday, leaving 148 people dead and 781 injured besides toppling many buildings.

During the visit, Li talked with people affected by the disaster and learned about the work related to resettlement, relief supplies, and the construction of temporary dwellings.

He said the top priority of current relief workers was to ensure the affected people stay warm and safe in winter, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Li urged relief workers to race against time to send relief supplies and daily necessities to the victims in the settlements and build temporary houses as fast as possible for those living in tents.

If needed, buildings in the quake-hit areas should be checked and reinforced so that residents can move back and essential facilities such as schools and hospitals can be reopened, Li said.

Reconstruction should be planned in a coordinated manner to help local people improve their living conditions to prevent them from falling into poverty due to the disaster, he said.

He instructed authorities to provide the best possible medical treatment for those injured in the quake.

The premier also instructed local governments to release disaster relief information timely and actively respond to the concerns of the affected people.

Xinhua reported that China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA) has allocated disaster relief materials to Gansu and Qinghai, including 1,335 pieces of cold prevention materials and communication equipment.