Rising death toll, popular anger in China quake

According to state wire service Xinhua, the Information Office of the State Council confirmed the death toll yesterday as 40,075 nationwide, including 39,577 in Sichuan province. Another 32,361 persons were missing as of yesterday at noon. Unfortunately, since the quake now happened over a week ago, it must be feared that most of those still trapped under debris have died; according to Xinhua, only two people were found alive yesterdayone thanks to rainwater that collected close to where she was trapped. The final death toll thus is likely to top 70,000.

The official number of injured has also risen, with 236,359 injuries confirmed in Sichuan province alone as of yesterday at 4 p.m.

Over 4.8 million people have been made homeless. Vice-Minister for Civil Affairs Jiang Li told reporters, Despite generous donations, the disaster is so great that victims still face a challenge in finding living accommodations. So far 278,000 tents have been sent to the quake zones, with 700,000 more ordered and factories working triple shifts to meet demand.

Chinese military sources told Xinhua that they had finally reached all 1,044 villages in the townships near the epicenter of the earthquake. Some villages had been completely cut off, with the 32-kilometer mountain path to Maliuping village, where 86 survivors were found, blocked by 37 landslides.

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