10:49am UK, Wednesday May 21, 2008

Heavy rain over south west China is likely to hamper earthquake relief efforts and threaten dams in disaster-hit areas.

Seaching rubble for loved ones

Thousands of aftershocks and a forecast of rain compunded problems in the mountainous region where delivering food and water and ensuring millions of homeless get shelter remain difficult.

Tents and awnings are in demand for more than 110,000 military and civilian rescuers.

Officials said China needed up to three million tents to house an estimated five million people left homeless by May 12's 7.9-magnitude quake.

The stricken areas, mainly in Sichuan, had received 280,000 tents and factories were working around the clock to deliver another 700,000.

Many residents of Chengdu, the provincial capital hit by a persistent drizzle on Wednesday, spent the night in tents, fearful of building collapses.

Nearly the whole population of Shifang, a small city near Chengdu, slept outside on Tuesday night despite the rain.

In the countryside, many farmers now live in encampments of makeshift shelters with their homes too damaged or too unsafe to live in.

A government statement said the number killed now exceeded 40,000 and Xinhua news agency said a further 32,000 were missing.

Authorities had previously said they expected the final death toll to exceed 50,000. More than 247,000 were injured.

With heavy rain forecast for the next two days, Premier Wen Jiabao urged the Water Resources Ministry to send experts into quake-hit areas for patrols of dams and reservoirs that could break their banks and cause flooding.