Group to reinforce buildings prone to quake damage

China has established a nonprofit foundation dedicated to reinforcing buildings' resistance to earthquakes.

The foundation, administered by the Red Cross Society of China and sponsored by a seismic engineering company in Beijing, aims to inspect about 10,000 old buildings and structures located along seismic belts, or areas prone to earthquakes, within five years, according to a statement issued by the society.

The nonprofit will offer ways to reinforce damage-prone buildings and provide basic training to construction workers, especially those working in rural areas.

Most people killed or injured in China's earthquakes over the past decade lived in half-timber or adobe houses in rural areas, and such structures are susceptible to damage by earthquakes and aftershocks, experts said.