After the quake

Quake zone braces for aftershocks

CHENGDU, China (CNN) — Fleeting signs of hope surfaced in southwestern China Tuesday, eight days after a devastating earthquake laid waste to many parts of the region.

Over a 14-hour period, rescue teams pulled two men from the rubble in Sichuan province — one from a mine in Qingchuna county and a second from a hydroelectric plant in Wenchuan county, state-run media reported. They had been buried for six days and 20 hours and seven days and 11 hours, respectively, according to China’s Xinhua news agency.

The rescues came as China paused to honor victims of the disaster and braced themselves for further aftershocks.

The Sichuan Seismological Bureau warned residents that a strong aftershock was likely to happen in the province, Xinhua reported.

The bureau said there was a bigger possibility of the aftershock between Monday and Tuesday as it warned local government and people to take precautions.

“You expect to see aftershocks following a major earthquake,” said Susan Potter, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado, “but they become less frequent and smaller as time goes on.”

Potter said the USGS does not issue aftershock predictions.

State media showed people camping on the streets and in city squares after the government-issued aftershock warning.

China’s observance of the earthquake came exactly a week after the 7.9-magnitude earthquake shook the county’s southwest to its core — 2:28 p.m. Monday. The temblor killed at least 34,073 and injured another 245,109.

The observance erupted into a loud outpouring of emotion among thousands of people in Chengdu, a major city close to the quake’s epicenter and the capital of China’s Sichuan province. They ended three minutes of silent observance with cries of grief and shouts of support for the recovery effort.

The observance began three days of mourning in China, including a temporary suspension of the Olympic torch relay.

Strong aftershocks and fears of flash flooding and landslides hindered rescue efforts. Chinese seismologists measured a 5.4 magnitude tremor at 2:06 p.m. Monday, Xinhua reported.

Mud flows buried more than 200 relief workers who were working to repair damaged roads in the Sichuan province, Xinhua reported Monday afternoon.

The earthquake severely disrupted power and communication facilities in the Sichuan province, but Chinese officials said Monday they have made major progress in restoring service.

The electricity production and distribution has been returned to a level about 80 percent of what it was before the quake, although the four hardest hit counties closest to the epicenter are still without power, an official said.

Telecommunication services have been restored to 76 of the 109 townships in the province, another official said.

Workers battled landslides and other barriers to carry fiber communications equipment on foot to restore communications, the official said.

So far, almost 60 aid organizations from 13 countries were assisting in the aftermath of the quake. Among the countries are India, France, Singapore, the Philippines and the United States.

The quake was the worst tremor to strike China in three decades; a 1976 earthquake killed more than 250,000 people

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China quake ‘costs firms $9.5bn’

The recent earthquake has cost Chinese companies $9.5bn (66bn yuan; £4.8bn), the country’s government has said.

Deputy industry minister Xi Guohua said about 14,207 firms in Sichuan province and nearby area were damaged by the earthquake and 1,387 employees killed.

More than 71,000 people are dead, buried or missing after the quake in Sichuan province, state media says, with more than 220,000 people injured.

On Monday, China began three days of mourning for the earthquake victims.

Reconstruction

Last week AIR Worldwide, a disaster modelling firm, estimated that the cost of the quake was likely to exceed $20bn.

The Chinese government has allocated some $150m towards the relief budget.

Demand for raw materials in China is expected to rise significantly, as the disaster-hit area tries to rebuild.

“Construction demand in the Sichuan region will be very robust,” said Helen Wang, an analyst at DBS.

Chinese cement firm Anhui Conch plans to invest 5bn yuan to start three new plants in Sichuan. The firm has seen its shares rise 17% in the past week.

Other firms in the sector have also risen, with shares in both Huaxin Cement and Fujian Cement up 10% on Monday.

Meanwhile Japanese carmaker Toyota, which has a joint venture in China with local auto firm FAW, has restarted operations.

Production at the plant had been stopped for a week following the earthquake.