July 24, 2003

AFPáPhoto

Casualty figures from an earthquake that struck southwest China, affecting 1.25 million people, jumped as rescue teams got to the worst affected areas, state media and local officials said.

The number of people killed remained at 16, but the injured toll nearly doubled from Wednesday's figure to 584, with 104 in serious condition, the China Daily said, citing the latest official tally.

The deadly 6.2 Richter-scale tremor struck late Monday in Yunnan province's Dayao county, located 180 kilometres (110 miles) from the provincial capital Kunming.

The quake affected 15 other counties besides Dayao county, where the epicenter at Tanhua town is located.

Some of the quake-affected areas are in rugged mountains, making rescue and relief efforts difficult.

China's ministry of civil affairs said the lives and livelihoods of 1.25 million people had been affected.

Some 1,508 head of livestock were killed, 24,000 houses collapsed and 1.1 million houses damaged, China Daily said.

More than 40 aftershocks were recorded Wednesday, with the biggest measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale, the paper quoted seismologists at the Yunnan Seismological Bureau as saying.

All of the deaths and most of the injuries occurred in Dayao county, according to county officials.

An official surnamed Chen at the county's disaster command center told AFP 506 people in the county were injured, with 71 suffering serious injuries.

Tanhua town and nearby Shiyang town in Dayao county were the two worst-affected towns, with 10 people killed and 91 injured in Tanhua and six people killed and 164 injured in nearby Shiyang, a county official told AFP.

The quake has caused landslides that blocked roads and impeded efforts to get much-needed food and relief supplies to the victims, some of whom are trapped in their villages because the roads are impassable.

Soldiers and other rescue crews have had to travel on foot or by horse for hours through the mountains to bring supplies to the victims.

Officials in Tanhua and Shiyang towns told AFP Thursday they have been able to reach all areas of the towns affected by the earthquake.

Victims had not only lost their homes, but the grain stored in their homes and were in dire need of food assistance, officials said.

By Thursday, Tanhua and Shiyang township officials said, rescue workers had delivered rice to the towns.

"Yesterday, we received 12 tons of rice for the worst affected areas (where all the homes collapsed). The supply will last the victims a week. It will meet our needs for the time being. Other assistance supplies should arrive very quickly," a Shiyang township official surnamed Wu said.

The ministry of civil affairs said the estimated direct economic loss stood at 620 million yuan (74.7 million US dollars).