(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-25 08:40

CHENGDU -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Saturday the efforts to search survivors were continuing in the quake-hit areas, but the focus of work would be gradually shifted to the resettlement of residents and post-quake reconstruction.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R Front) speaks during an interview with journalists in Yingxiu Town of Wenchuan County, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 24, 2008, during his second inspection tour of quake-hit areas in Sichuan after the May 12 earthquake. [Xinhua]

Wen told Chinese and foreign reporters at a resettlement site in Yingxiu town, a worst-hit area in the May 12 quake, that the biggest difficulty in resettling the quake-affected residents was the lack of tents.

A total of 15 million rooms were damaged in the quake and a large number of people are in need of shelter, said the premier, who is paying a second visit to the quake-hit Sichuan Province.

"We have collected the tents nationwide and got aid from international community, but tents are still lacking," Wen said.

The Chinese government has ordered tent manufacturers to produce and transport 30,000 tents to the quake zone each day and 900,000 within a month, Wen said.

The production of movable plank houses should also be accelerated to ensure the quake-affected people resume a normal life within three months, Wen added.

Efforts should also be made to ensure no big epidemic after the disaster, the premier said

Enough epidemic prevention staff and medicine supply should be ensured, he said.

Wen said another problem confronting quake-relief workers is that the chances of secondary disasters still exist. Quake-formed lakes are the most serious among them.

"We will take effective measures to eradicate safety hazards to ensure no casualties in secondary disasters," Wen said.

The premier also stressed that the construction materials of collapsed public buildings, including schools and hospitals, should be collected for reference in future reconstruction.