BEIJING — Chinese authorities on May 23 urged continued relief efforts in the quake-hit provinces of Yunnan and Qinghai, stressing the priority of ensuring the livelihood of the affected.

At a video conference called by the office of the State Council's earthquake relief headquarters, minister of emergency management Huang Ming called for coordinated work on quake relief and epidemic control in the areas.

The conference required related authorities to distribute relief funds and materials as soon as possible.

As the quake-hit areas in Yunnan is located in high mountains and valleys with a large number of people affected, more efforts should be made to prevent the epidemic and secondary disasters, according to the conference.

Four earthquakes with a magnitude over 5.0 struck Yangbi Yi autonomous county in the Dali Bai autonomous prefecture of Yunnan from 9 pm to 11 pm on May 21. At 2:04 am on May 22, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake jolted Maduo county in the Golog Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Qinghai province.