Relief ops underway in quake zone as roads reopen

14 May 2008 13:54  [Source: ICIS news]

SHANGHAI (ICIS news)--Four highways to Sichuan province from neighbouring Shaanxi are said to have reopened to traffic and there has been a gradual recovery in communication channels following the devastation wrought by Monday's earthquake, media reports said on Wednesday.

Relief operations in Sichuan province were ongoing in the county of Wenchuan, the epicentre of the 7.9-magnitude quake, where soldiers have been drafted in to aid the more than 110,000 people affected by the disaster, which saw a third of houses in the area razed to the ground.  

Roads leading to Wenchuan were still being repaired, the Ministry of Communications said but did not disclose when these would reopen.

Meanwhile, petrochemicals companies from across the country were providing support in the form of donations and supplies to the region, where almost 15,000 people had lost their lives according to the latest estimates.

Sinopec subsidiary Jingmen Petrochemical had supplied nearly 7,000 tonnes of diesel over the past two days to Sichuan to ensure there was no disruption in market supply, a company source said.

PetroChina and Sinopec have each provided yuan (CNY) 10m ($1.4m) in disaster relief, while Dow Chemicals said it had donated CNY2m to residents in the affected region.

The Formosa Group had donated CNY100m, Yang Yi, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said.

Many state-owned enterprises were also providing necessary financial support to people, media reports said.

Relief materials and goods were also being transported to Sichuan province from Guangxi, Heilongjiang and other provinces, said Xinhua news agency.

($1 = CNY6.99)

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By: Judith Wang
+65 6780 4359

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