The temperature in Zhaosu County of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region plunged to - 25 C Tuesday as survivors of Monday's earthquake awaited the arrival of relief materials.

A group of farmers warm themselves around a fire in the quake-hit Zhaosu County in the far western part of northwet China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on the night of December 1, 2003. The quake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, struck the remote county on Monday killing 11 people and leaving more than 1,000 people homeless with temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius. [newsphoto.com.cn]

"We desperately need fur coats, cotton shoes, caps and other winter clothes,'' said Zhang Yong, deputy division commander of the No 4 agricultural division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

Local officials said it would take two days for trucks carrying 1,000 tents to reach the stricken region because of deep snow, and arrival of relief materials from Urumqi, the regional capital, has likewise been delayed.

Zhang said 1,226 people, most of them ethnic Mongolians, were seriously affected when the quake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale, rolled through the county near the border with Kazakhstan.

Eleven people were killed and 73 injured, and the quake caused economic losses estimated at 23.6 million yuan (US$2.9 million).

A number of historical relics were also damaged, according to China News Agency.

Emergency aid arrived yesterday in the hardest-hit area of Zhaosu County in the Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Ili.

The local civil affairs department in the county told China Daily 650 tents have been distributed by the department and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

An additional 1,000 tents and living necessities sent by the regional government, along with 100 tons of coal donated by the department, were expected to arrive Tuesday.

Another 30,000 yuan (US$3,600) worth of relief materials, including clothing, quilts, medicine, foods and cotton-padded shoes is en route.

The Red Cross Society of China has decided to donate 100,000 yuan (US$12,000) to help victims.

The Civil Affairs Ministry has dispatched an investigation team, and another rescue team has been sent by the China Seismological Bureau.

To prevent further injuries from the continuous aftershocks, patrolling teams have been organized by local rescue workers to stop people from entering their wrecked houses.

Soldiers and police officers were dismantling damaged houses to avoid the danger of their collapsing.

Zhang Yong, the senior corps officer, was quoted by Xinhua as saying the division's rescue command headquarters had mobilized 700 workers to dig caves to provide shelter for homeless people and cattle, but he said the work was slowed by the cold.

The emergency food and clean water will "barely satisfy'' people's needs, Zhang said.

It's reported that more than 6,000 people have been affected, most of whom are workers and relatives from the 76 agricultural division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

Victims are worried about how to spend the six-month winter season in Zhaosu County, where the temperature can plummet to as low as -40 C.

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