KUNMING, Jan. 4 -- At 15:02 on January 2, a 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Ninglang county of Lijiang City in Southwest China's Yunnan Province. The Lijiang Military Sub-command under the PLA Southern Theater Command immediately activated an emergency plan, and mobilized 150 militiamen to the front line for rescue work in coordination with the local government.
According to China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC), the earthquake has a focal depth of 10 km, with the epicenter located in Ninglang County. There are about 75,000 people within 50 km of the epicenter.
The People’s Armed Forces Department in Ninglang under the Lijiang Military Sub-command responded quickly and organized the militiamen in nearby towns to rush to the earthquake-stricken area. They arrived at the epicenter at 16:50 and immediately devoted themselves to works of search and rescue, danger elimination, establishment of temporary resettlement sites and logistic support. As of 15:00 on January 3, the militia rescue team had searched 208 dilapidated houses, erected 235 tents with 843 people resettled.
Gala Village, one of the natural villages under most serious strike, has more than 70 households. “After the earthquake, the militia rescue team arrived here in less than two hours and evacuated us to a safe place”, said a villager Cao Luru. The villagers felt at ease when seeing the militiamen in camouflage.
“Many victims volunteered to join us in setting up tents and brought us hot water,” said Liu Jianguo, on-site commanding officer. The militia rescue team will help the affected people get back on normal track as soon as possible.
