China needs a decade to overcome earthquake: Red Cross
Güncelleme Tarihi:
China faces enormous challenges after last month's earthquake and will need up to 10 years to fully overcome the disaster, the president of the International Red Cross said here Thursday.
"Of course, the challenges are very enormous and dealing with them will be a heavy task for many years," said Juan Manuel Suarez del Toro Rivero, who is currently touring the quake zone.
"In our experience after an earthquake you need another five to 10 years of work," he told AFP.
He said he was "very happy" with Chinas response to the disaster and that he was confident it could work with the Chinese Red Cross and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to address the challenges.
"Of course the disaster is tremendous and I have seen many, many victims, but local authorities are dispersing money and implementing plans," he said.
The May 12 quake, which hit southwest China's Sichuan province, is the nations worst natural disaster in a generation.
The death toll from the 8.0-magnitude earthquake rose on Wednesday to 69,122, with another 17,991 missing, a government spokesman said. The new toll marked an increase of 15 from the day before.
Photo: AFP