Yushu denies residents still living in tents

Local authorities in Yushu county, Qinghai province, denied reports that 90 percent of residents who lost their homes are still living in tents two years after an earthquake with a 7.1 magnitude hit the Tibetan autonomous prefecture.

Pu Yingying, a PR manager in Shanghai, wrote on her micro blog on Wednesday that she learnt from a friend who just returned from Yushu county that 90 percent of the affected residents are still living in tents.

Local authorities in Yushu were quick to deny Pu's claims on Friday.

In an online statement, authorities said that 94 percent of residents who lost their homes have been relocated to new homes and that construction of new homes for 98 percent of the residents has already begun.

Authorities said that Pu's claims were true in a township in the county where the reconstruction process has been difficult.

The Yushu Tibetan autonomous county was hit by the earthquake on April 14, 2010, causing a death toll of at least 2,200 people and leaving about 100,000 residents homeless.