SW China earthquakes claim 80 lives; premier visits quake zone

 SW China earthquakes claim 80 lives; premier¹ visits quake zone

YILIANG, Yunnan, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Eighty people have been confirmed dead as of Saturday noon following multiple earthquakes that struck southwest China's Yunnan Province on Friday, local authorities said.

The death toll² may climb further, as the quakes have seriously damaged telecommunications and traffic infrastructure³, making it difficult to collect information, said a spokesman with the provincial⁴ civil affairs department.

Another 820 people were injured in the two quakes, which hit an area near Yiliang county in Yunnan and Weining county in Guizhou Province at 11:19 a.m. and 12:16 p.m. Friday, respectively.

More than 200,000 people in Yunnan were relocated as more than 6,600 houses collapsed⁵ and another 430,000 damaged. Direct economic losses were estimated at 3.5 billion yuan (552 million U.S. dollars), according to the civil affairs department.

In Guizhou, two people had been reported injured as of 1 a.m. Saturday, with more than 11,700 houses damaged, said the province's civil affairs department.

President Hu Jintao, who is in Russia for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum⁶, has called for immediate⁷ efforts to help with disaster relief work.

Premier Wen Jiabao arrived at the quake zone early Saturday, stressing that efforts to save lives should come first to minimize casualties.

Saying that the first 72 hours are critical for post-quake rescue operations, Wen said rescuers must make their utmost efforts to find and rescue survivors⁸.

Wen reached mountainous Yiliang county, one of the worst-hit areas, around 1 a.m. Saturday. He has spent a sleepless⁹ night visiting quake survivors in local villages and hospitals since arriving.

Directing rescue work in a temporary tent in the quake zone, Wen said the top priority now is to save people. He asked rescuers to reach every village on Saturday.

The quakes have cut off electricity and triggered landslides¹⁰ that have blocked roads, hampering¹¹ rescue efforts.

Local meteorological authorities said the region will experience rains in the coming three days, which may also affect rescue efforts.

The Yiliang county education bureau said three primary school students are among those killed in the quakes.

Zhou Guangfu, deputy chief of the bureau, said the students were attending class at the Yunluo Primary School in Jiaokui township when the first quake occurred.

Zhou said there were 15 students in the school at the time of the first quake, eight of whom were buried. Teachers and villagers rescued just five of them.

Classrooms in more than 300 high and primary schools were also damaged, Zhou said.

The Maoping Primary School in Luozehe township suffered damage to the first and second floors of one of its buildings. Classes there have been suspended.

Zhou said the bureau will inspect the county's schools before allowing classes to resume.

1 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

9 sleepless   

adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的

参考例句：

• The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。
• One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上，我听说了一个传闻，把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。

10 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

11 hampering   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• So fraud on cows and development aid is seriously hampering growth. 因此在牛问题上和发展补助上的诈骗严重阻碍了发展。
• Short-termism, carbon-trading, disputing the science-are hampering the implementation of direct economically-led objectives. 短效主义，出售二氧化碳，进行科学辩论，这些都不利于实现以经济为主导的直接目标。