China needs shelter for 5 million

CHENGDU, China – The death toll in China’s devastating earthquake topped 40,000 Tuesday as the country entered a second day of national mourning and struggled to shelter more than 5 million people left homeless.

As the relentless search and rescue effort across the mountainous quake zone reached the ninth day, hope of finding more survivors grew increasingly dim. But small miracles abound.

State media reported that a 31-year old worker had been rescued at a damaged hydroelectric power plant. Ma Yuanjiang survived for 178 hours by drinking his own urine through an empty water bottle and eating four pieces of paper he found in the dark, the report said.

The New China News Agency also reported the rescue of a 60-year-old woman it identified as Wang Liqun, a retiree who had survived on rainwater.

Here in the capital of Sichuan province, the mood Tuesday was somber as residents faced the threat of aftershocks and sought to pay respect to the dead.

The streets were eerily empty as many shops closed in response to a government call to cease all entertaining activities for three days in a gesture of mourning. Authorities also warned that more tremors are expected to hit the region, further hampering rescue efforts and rattling fragile nerves.

As the focus shifts from search and rescue to caring for the injured and homeless, the Chinese government faced the monumental task of housing more than 5 million displaced people and more than 240,000 injured. An estimated 32,000 people were still missing, which could raise the final casualty number.

Authorities have stepped up production for extra tents to improve living conditions, reduce overcrowding and avoid exposure during the coming raining season. They also have transferred nearly 2,000 patients to facilities away from the epicenter.

Beijing has welcomed international medical workers in the epic humanitarian relief effort, and a team of Russians with a mobile hospital arrived in Chengdu on Tuesday. Medical workers from Japan, Germany and Italy were also on their way.

President Bush visited the Chinese Embassy in Washington on Tuesday to offer his condolences and extend willingness to help to the Chinese people.