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Press Releases & Updates

12 MAR 2013

Timely aid to Yunnan quake survivors

About 5,500 people affected by the recent 5.5 magnitude earthquake in Yunnan are receiving emergency aid from Oxfam after an immediate assessment on the ground.

The assessment indicates that survivors living in some of the worst-hit areas, Tuanjie, Xishan and Shengli villages of Xishan Township, Eryuan County, are in urgent needs of warming materials, shelters and personal hygiene.

In an effort to fend off the cold and prevent disease outbreak in the quake-affected areas, Oxfam delivers quilts, waterproof fabric and personal hygiene kits (which include toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, towel, cup and sanitary napkin) benefitting some 4000 villagers.  Besides blankets, water proof fabric are also provided to schools and hospital to install temporary dormitories and in-patient temporary shelters, benefiitting another 1500 people.  The total expense for this response is over 370,000 Yuan.

At 13:41 of 3 March, a 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit Eryuan County, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, leaving 30 people injured, 160,000 people affected, over 2,000 houses collapsed.  Water facilities, schools, roads and bridges were also damaged.

Relief operations were being carried out by the relief teams sent out by Yunnan government.  Shelters, blankets and clothes were also distributed by the Provincial’s Civil Affairs Department to meet the immediate needs of the survivors.

Oxfam Hong Kong has ongoing poverty alleviation and development programmes in Yunnan. Over the years, the agency has responded to several disasters in the region, including the earthquake in Lijiang in 1996, the snowstorm in 2008 and the drought in 2010-2012.

About Oxfam
Oxfam is dedicated to fighting poverty and inequity worldwide. The international and independent development and humanitarian organisation tackles poverty in four main ways: sustainable development in poor communities, disaster relief, local, national and global advocacy, and education with Hong Kong youth. Established in Hong Kong in1976, Oxfam Hong Kong is a founding member of Oxfam, an international confederation that has assisted poor people in 92 countries. Oxfam Hong Kong alone has supported poor people in over 70 countries/regions.

A primary school was damaged in the quake.

Women receives hygiene kits from Oxfam.