About 1,600 Qinghai earthquake victims shivering through the cold nights will be given thicker tents and heaters, a local official said on Wednesday.

The temperature drops to below 0 C at night, local officials said.

"All those who lost their homes in the quake have now moved into tents. We are replacing the single layer tents with cotton padded ones," an official surnamed Ai from the emergency administration bureau of Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan autonomous prefecture said.

The total loss caused by the 6.3 magnitude quake on Monday has been put at 141.7 million yuan (US$21 million).

Zhang Jianchang, an official of the Qinghai earthquake administration, said 1,054 after-shocks had been recorded as of Wednesday. The strongest was of 5.1.

More than 8,800 people have been affected, 12 houses were destroyed and 7,444 damaged.

The government set up 282 tents on Monday, and 300 more were sent to the region on Wednesday, Ai said.

Water and electricity have been restored to the region. The Qinghai-Tibet railway was also reopened on Wednesday, he said.

Schools, factories and mines remain closed in Da Qaidam town, the epicenter of the earthquake.

"We will wait until the experts decide when it is safe to reopen them," Ai said.

(China Daily November 13, 2008)