BEIJING, June 22 (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, making his third visit to the quake zone, spoke of a "calamity-ridden nation" on Sunday but said life in the provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu should be back to normal within two months.

The epicentre of the May 12 quake was in the southwestern province of Sichuan, but surrounding provinces also suffered damage and about 500 deaths, with many village houses destroyed.

The total death toll is nearly 70,000, with thousands more missing.

China has also been hit in the year it hosts the Olympics by record-breaking snowstorms and annual summer floods in the south.

"The lives of quake-affected people should basically be back to normal (in Shaanxi and Gansu) in two months, and reconstruction in the two provinces should be basically completed by 2010," Wen was quoted by Xinhua news agency saying in Gansu's capital Lanzhou.

"Authorities should continue to stick to the 'people first' policy in their work and guard against epidemics," Wen said.

Wen visited students at a middle school and encouraged them to work harder. Many schools in Sichuan toppled in the quake while buildings around them stayed upright, raising questions about safety and construction standards.

"We should not forget this earthquake and particularly the spirit of unity and mutual help and hard work," he said. "Only with this spirit, can the calamity-ridden Chinese nation be invigorated and the country be built." (Reporting by Li Jiansheng; Editing by Nick Macfie)

AlertNet news is provided by