A 6.5-magnitude earthquake shook Ludian county in Zhaodong, Yunnan province on August 3. At least 589 people die, 9 are missing and 2,401 injured. More than 12,000 houses have been toppled and 30,000 damaged in the quake zone.

After the earthquake, Wang Minzheng, member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Committee and Secretary of Kunming and director of the administrative committee for the Kunming High-Tech Zone, immediately gave instructions, asking the administrative committee to organize a professional rescue team formed by specialists in various fields including fire protection, water treatment, public security and environmental protection. The rescue team is now prepared to go to quake-hit areas on command.

In addition, the Kunming Hi-Tech Zone donated 1 million yuan ($162,000) to Ludian. Meanwhile, the administrative committee called on all staff to make voluntary donations to the victims of the quake. By 5 pm on Aug 5, donations from individuals had reached 135,000 yuan.

By Shi Zihan and edited by Brian Salter