The death toll has risen to 2,220 with 70 people still missing following the devastating earthquake in the mainly Tibetan Yushu area of north-west China's Qinghai province on April 14, the government said on Monday, DPA reported.
Some rescue teams had already left the area as soldiers and civilian workers continued to focus on relief work in the mountainous area, the Xinhua news agency quoted officials as saying.
But the relief and reconstruction work faced "major challenges," the agency quoted Zhang Guangrong, the deputy governor of Qinghai, as saying on Monday.
The main problems included extreme weather, high altitude, poor transportation, high construction costs, and insecure electricity supplies, Zhang said, adding that proper funding would be "key to solving the problems."
"As of 5 pm Sunday, we have received donations totaling 3.5 billion yuan (515 million dollars) in cash, plus relief materials valued at 4 billion yuan," he was quoted as saying.
A framework plan for reconstruction aims to turn Yushu's main town of Jiegu, where 85 per cent of buildings were destroyed, into a "plateau ecological tourist city," Zhang said.
On Wednesday, China held national mourning ceremonies for those who died in the magnitude-6.9 quake, which also left some 12,000 injured, including more than 1,000 in serious condition.
Yushu quake death toll rises to 2,220
The death toll has risen to 2,220 with 70 people still missing following the devastating earthquake in the mainly Tibetan Yushu area of north-west China's Qinghai province on April 14, the government said on Monday.
