Aftershock triggers slides at quake epicenter

'Race against time'
In the city of Hanwang, Zhou Furen also walked hours by foot — borrowing the army green shoes she was wearing — to a factory where her son had worked and remained missing.

“I’ve been coming here every day, sitting here in the early morning, waiting,” she said, weeping. “He’s been missing for more than three days now. But for my son I would come every day.”

President Hu Jintao made his first trip to the disaster zone, rallying troops among the massive relief operation of some 130,000 soldiers and police.

“The challenge is still severe, the task is still arduous and the time is pressing,” Hu was quoted as saying by Xinhua. “Quake relief work has entered into the most crucial phase. We must make every effort, race against time and overcome all difficulties to achieve the final victory of the relief efforts.”

The first international rescue crews arrived in the disaster area, after China dropped its initial reluctance to accept foreign personnel. Japanese rescuers started work early Friday, and teams from Russia, Singapore and South Korea later joined operations, Xinhua reported.

It was the first time ever that China accepted outside professionals for domestic disaster relief, Foreign Ministry counselor Li Wenliang told Xinhua.

The government said it had allocated a total of $772 million for earthquake relief, according to the central bank’s Web site, up sharply from $159 million two days ago.

China also has received $457 million in donated money and goods for rescue efforts, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, including $83 million from 19 countries and four international organizations.

Given the widespread destruction, AIR Worldwide — a catastrophe risk modeling firm — estimated losses to both insured and uninsured property would likely exceed $20 billion.

China's Ministry of Land and Resources warned that heavy rains forecast for the next few days would likely set off new landslides. The ministry said on its Web site that local authorities "must immediately mark off danger zones" to ensure rescue workers' safety.

Hundreds of damaged dams have also raised fears of collapse or flooding that could inundate towns and cities that are already struggling to recover from the quake.

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