Businesses reopening in quake-hit areas of NW China

LANZHOU, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Businesses and schools are reopening, gradually bringing life back to normal in earthquake-hit areas in northwest China's Gansu and Qinghai provinces, local authorities said.

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked the Bonan-Dongxiang-Salar Autonomous County of Jishishan in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture a week ago, leaving 149 people dead, two missing in Gansu and the neighboring Qinghai Province.

On Monday morning, rescuers, medical staff and other members of the public paid a silent tribute to victims of the earthquake. Mourning services were held in four townships in Jishishan County.

The provincial emergency management department of Gansu said at a press conference that 90 percent of business outlets, ranging from supermarkets to restaurants, have reopened in the county seat of Jishishan, while the reopening rate in small towns stands at over 50 percent.

It added that all schools in the county have resumed classes as of Monday.

A total of 8,096 prefabricated houses have been built in the quake-hit area, according to the prefecture government. The province has planned to build 15,000 such houses to shelter residents whose dwellings were destroyed or damaged.

The prefab houses have been furnished with quilts and electric heaters, and medical staff are stationed at the resettlement sites to provide medical services.

In Gansu, 139,800 items of disaster-relief material from central and provincial governments have been sent to quake-hit areas as of Sunday, and the province has received over 3.5 million items from public donations.

In Qinghai, all schools in earthquake-hit areas have resumed classes as of Monday, involving over 120,000 students, according to the provincial education department.

In earthquake-hit village of Mengdashan in Qinghai, local authorities said that all of the disaster-affected people have moved into tents, with enough relief materials meeting the needs of the people. More prefabricated houses are being built to keep people safe and warm.