The toll from the powerful earthquake that struck southwest China at the beginning of the week rose further today to 82 dead, while rain and the risk of mudslides are hampering the work of rescuers.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.6, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), struck the rural canton of Luding in the mountainous province of Sichuan on Monday.
According to the latest toll, announced today by state television CCTV, 46 people died in the Tibetan autonomous region of Garze, where the epicentre is located, and 36 in the neighbouring canton of Simian.
More than 270 are injured and 35 are missing, according to the same source.
The meteorological services are forecasting rainfall for today and tomorrow in the region with some localised thunderstorms.
«These rains risk causing landslides,» they warned.
More than 10,000 rescuers - military, paramilitary and firefighters - are involved in rescue operations, as well as in preventing possible mudslides.
More than 22,000 people have so far been evacuated from the area and taken to 124 temporary shelters, according to the newspaper Laiki Imerisia.
In addition, about 1,800 schools in the region were back to normal yesterday, Wednesday.
On Monday, at the time of the earthquake, more than 21,000 students and staff members had to be evacuated in Shimian Cantonment, according to a report in the ruling Chinese Communist Party newspaper.
Hundreds of kilometres of electrical and fibre optic cables were damaged by the earthquake. Communications in the affected areas have however been «virtually restored» today, according to China Youth Daily.
