BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- A strong quake measuring
8.0 on the Richter scale jolted Wenchuan County in southwest China's Sichuan
Province on May 12.
Tremors were felt across China except the
northeastern Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces and the northwestern Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous region.
The quake has caused deaths and injuries, destroyed
towns and roads, and cut off electricity, telecommunications, transport and
water supply. The Chinese government has taken a series of measures for disaster
relief.
Following are the latest facts and figures of the
quake and relief work.
-- The death toll from the quake rose to 32,476
nationwide as of 2 p.m. Sunday, while 220,109 people were injured. The toll in
Sichuan alone was 31,978, with many still buried.
-- In Sichuan's neighbors, 364 people were reported
dead in Gansu Province as of 2 p.m. Sunday, 113 in Shaanxi Province, 16 in
Chongqing Municipality, two in Henan Province, one in Yunnan Province, one in
Hubei Province and one in Hunan Province.
-- The quake, which also triggered landslides in the
mountainous province, damaged 33,300 hectares of farmland, including more than
10,000 hectares of wheat and rape and more than 20,000 hectares of vegetables in
13 worst-hit cities and counties, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
As the disaster also destroyed irritation systems in
some areas, up to 100,000 hectares of rice paddies might have to be used to grow
alternative crops.
-- The central budget had allocated 5.782 billion
yuan (826 million U.S. dollars) to the relief fund for quake-hit areas as of5
p.m. Sunday.
The ministries of finance and civil affairs
appropriated 100 million yuan (14.29 million U.S. dollars) to Gansu Province for
emergency aid on Sunday.
-- Donors at home and abroad had contributed 8.945
billion yuan (1.278 billion U.S. dollars) in cash and goods for disaster relief
as of midday Sunday, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Special
report: Strong
Earthquake Jolts SW China