Central govt allocates 600 mln yuan for Yunnan quake relief

More than 40 hours have passed since the magnitude-6.5 earthquake rocked the city of Zhaotong in Southwest China's Yunnan province. Local authorities have confirmed, as of 3:00 pm Monday Beijing time, 398 people had been killed, and more than eighteen hundred people are injured.

Over one million people in Ludian, Qiaojia, Zhaoyang counties, and Huize county in the neighboring city of Qujing have been affected. Nearly 230-thousand people have been relocated to safer places.

China's earthquake administration has launched its highest level emergency response. Most streets in Longtoushan Township, where the epicenter of the quake took place, are completely destroyed. Professional medical teams and experts have also been dispatched from nearby provinces and Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The central government has allocated 600 million yuan for disaster relief so far. Power to ten towns and townships were cut by the quake, affecting more than 38,000 households. So far, more than two-thirds of areas have resumed power supply, including the Longtoushan Township.

Two damaged main roads leading to the quake area have been reopened, but volunteers and other non-professionals are being warned to stay out of the area.