Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

SHENZHEN social organizations and enterprises promptly responded to disaster relief to Northwest China’s Gansu and Qinghai provinces after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake jolted a county in Gansu at 11:59 p.m. Monday, which had claimed 131 lives as of yesterday morning.

Relief supplies, including quilts, folding beds, foods, bottled water, tents, water-resistant mats, and heaters, were sent to the disaster-affected areas to ensure the survivors’ basic necessities.

Tencent Charity Foundation on Tuesday announced a donation of 20 million yuan (US$2.8 million), which will be used for emergency rescue efforts in disaster-stricken areas of Gansu and Qinghai, winter supplies provision, and post-disaster recovery and reconstruction.

The first batch of supplies, including 10 cotton tents and 200 folding beds, arrived at the disaster-hit areas at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Halal food and bottled water arrived at Minhe County in Qinghai at noon.

Shenzhen-headquartered Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. donated 10 million yuan to the disaster-hit areas.

The first batch of purchased supplies including disaster relief tents, clothes, water-resistant mats, heaters, folding beds, foods, and drinking water, were delivered to the areas at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

At 3 a.m. Tuesday, the first batch of emergency rescue team members from Ping An Property Insurance arrived at the disaster-stricken areas.

BYD Charity Foundation also announced a cash donation of 10 million yuan to the quake-stricken area in Gansu.

Federation of Shenzhen Commerce said yesterday it collected 200,000 yuan (US$28,020) of donation in half an hour.

The Shenzhen-registered charity One Foundation launched a disaster response at 12:17 a.m. Tuesday, preparing to transport tents and other materials from its warehouse in Qinghai’s Xining City. Its  staffers and joint disaster relief partners also set off for Jishishan County in Gansu, the epicenter of the quake.

At 5:40 a.m. Tuesday, the first batch of 30 cotton tents were transported by the Qing-hai Children’s Welfare Association, the foundation’s joint disaster relief partner, from the Xining warehouse and arrived at Jishishan at 9:20 a.m. the same day.

The Shenzhen Rescue Volunteers Federation launched a rescue plan, dispatching three members to Gansu on Tuesday morning to coordinate with local emergency search and rescue departments and the Red Cross Society for targeted rescue.

In addition, the Shenzhen airport opened a dedicated green channel for passenger and cargo flights to Lanzhou and Xining, and waived related fees to facilitate disaster relief in Gansu and Qinghai on Tuesday.