All-out rescue efforts underway following Xizang 6.8-magnitude quake

China

All-out rescue efforts underway following Xizang 6.8-magnitude quake

2025-01-07 15:59 Last Updated At：23:57

Military personnel and firefighters are braving freezing temperatures to comb through rubble in their search and rescue efforts for survivors after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck a county in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on Tuesday morning.

The earthquake hit Dingri County in the city of Xigaze at 09:05 on Tuesday, with the epicenter located in Tsogo Township of Dingri. A total of 95 people had been confirmed dead and 130 others injured as of 15:00 Tuesday.

The Western Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army sent a drone immediately to survey the epicenter after the earthquake.

Besides, 50 militiamen arrived at the severely affected Changsuo Township for rescue operations, where many buildings collapsed as a result of the quake and they pulled injured people out from the rubble.

As of 12:30 on Tuesday, 389 armed police officers carrying 210 sets of rescue equipment had been deployed to the severely affected townships in Dingri to carry out rescue operations and assist the disaster-affected people.

In a village of Changsuo Township, armed police officers rescued a person buried under the ruins at noon on Tuesday.

The Xizang military command has dispatched the first batch of 200 soldiers to conduct rescue operations and deployed two helicopters to survey the situation in Changsuo Township.

Meanwhile, the second batch of over 1,500 soldiers has been mobilized for rescue operations, with six helicopters on standby for subsequent rescue missions.

Furthermore, the Xizang Fire and Rescue Corps promptly dispatched 35 vehicles and 198 personnel to the epicenter for rescue operations.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management urgently allocated 100 million yuan (around 13.6 million U.S. dollars) from the central natural disaster relief funds to aid Xizang in conducting earthquake disaster relief efforts, including search and rescue operations, relocation of affected residents, and reconstruction of damaged houses.

The State Council's earthquake relief headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management upgraded the national earthquake emergency response from Level III to Level II on Tuesday.

China's Spring Festival market buzzes as holiday approaches

2025-01-08 10:10 Last Updated At：11:37

As the 2025 Spring Festival approaches, food markets in several cities across the country are experiencing a shopping spree, with consumers flocking to snap up festive goods.

The Red Star agricultural products wholesale market in Changsha City of central China's Hunan Province offers fruits, fresh produce and other agricultural and sideline products from 28 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities as well as 21 countries and regions around the world. The market has recently seen a surge in sales volume.

"Since the New Year's Day, our sales volume has surged. For instance, yesterday we got eight trucks, and the volume will continue to grow," said Zhang Zhibin, a vendor at the market.

Statistics showed that, since the beginning of 2025, the Red Star market has seen a daily fruit trading volume of 12,000 tons, peaking at 20,000 tons. Vegetable trading averaged 5,000 tons per day, with peaks reaching 8,000 tons.

Zhoushan International Aquatic City, a major shopping center for aquatic products in Zhoushan City of east China's Zhejiang province, is also seeing a sales boom, with seafood orders increasing both online and offline.

Despite rising trade prices for some products, market demand remains strong.

"Currently, we purchase over 5,000 kilograms of goods daily, and then sell them to Wenzhou, Fujian, and Ningbo. The market [prices] are roughly in line with previous years, and the demand is high. Sometimes I got more than 100 orders a day," said Yang Yihua, a vendor at the aquatic city.