Reconstruction Begins in China's Quake-Stricken Area

Earthquake relief work in a Tibetan area of western China is moving from rescue to reconstruction.

Photo: Reconstruction Begins in China's Quake-Stricken Area

Many troops, search teams and firefighters have pulled out of Jiegu overnight and the streets of the remote town on Monday are clogged with heavy construction machinery and trucks carrying relief supplies, TODAYonline reports .

Thousands of Tibetan Buddhist monks stayed in Jiegu, however, picking at rubble with shovels, performing funeral rites and throwing food from the backs of trucks.

Bedraggled survivors streamed from their tents and chased the trucks, the women scooping bread rolls and packets of instant noodles into the aprons of their traditional fur-lined robes. Army trucks sprayed water on roads to reduce dust, and mobile toilets arrived — just in time as the spread of diseases was becoming a concern after more than five days without running water, The Associated Press says.