A 5.8 magnitude aftershock hits China quake zone as they braced for rain
Pastor Dale Morgan
A 5.8 magnitude aftershock hits China quake zone as they braced for rain*
There are fears that lakes created by the earthquake could burst.
BBC - China's earthquake zone has been warned to prepare for heavy rains
which could hamper further relief efforts.
There are concerns that construction of temporary shelters for five
million homeless could be delayed, while water levels in dams and lakes
remain high.
A 5.8 magnitude aftershock hit the area on Sunday, and was felt in
Beijing, though there were no reports of damage.
State TV said one person was killed and several hundred injured in the
tremor, in which 70,000 buildings collapsed.
Earlier a survivor was pulled from the rubble in Mianzhu, more than 11
days after the 12 May quake, state TV said.
Eighty-year-old Xiao Zhihu, who was partially paralysed before the
quake, was trapped under a pillar of his house.
He had been fed by his wife while trapped and was in a stable condition,
the reports said.
Government officials said the death toll had now risen to 62,664, and
few more survivors are expected to be found.
Rescuers are still searching for 24 miners trapped underground by the
earthquake in three mines, but it is not known whether they are still alive.
Premier Wen Jiabao has said the final death toll could be more than 80,000.
More than five million buildings collapsed in the earthquake and more
than five million people are homeless, officials say.
Dam fears
Sunday's aftershock sent residents of the provincial capital Chengdu
running out into the streets.
It was centred on Qingchuan, some way to the north of the epicentre of
the main earthquake.
Rains are expected later on Sunday and on Monday, which forecasters said
would be torrential in some areas and could cause mudslides.
There is also continuing concern over the state of dams in the region,
and a number of new lakes formed by the force of the earthquake.
China's Water Ministry said 69 dams were at one time in danger of
bursting, although steps have been taken to reduce the risk.
More than 300 more were affected by the earthquake, it added, saying
many had been drained or had their water levels reduced.
There have been no reports of any dams breaking.
Thirty-four lakes were created in the province when landslides blocked
rivers, Xinhua news agency said.
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Life in an evacuee camp near the earthquake epicentre
Eight held more than three million cubic metres of water and a lake at
Tangjiashan, less than 3km (two miles) from Beichuan town, had doubled
in size in four days.
Troops carrying explosives are heading for the lake to dig a sluice
channel to allow a controlled release of water and prevent it from
bursting.