China quake victims brace for rainy, cold night

By Ben Blanchard

DUJIANGYAN, China (Reuters) - Huddled inside buses and under makeshift tents, survivors of China's earthquake sought shelter from the rain and cold on Tuesday as aid agencies warned that the most urgent risk they faced was exposure.

Nearly 10,000 people were killed by the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that hammered China's southwestern province of Sichuan. The epicenter was in Wenchuan, a hilly county about 100 km (62 miles) from the provincial capital, Chengdu.

"The disaster is in mountainous areas. In the mornings and evenings, it can get very cold or just a few degrees (Celsius), so shelter is very important," said Rhea Leung of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Hong Kong.

"We are most concerned about shelter ... China Red Cross has supplied tents and blankets to some of the disaster areas," Leung said, as she appealed for more donations.

Some 1,300 rescue and relief troops arrived for the first time at Wenchuan county, the epicenter, and started operations in the rain, Xinhua news agency said.

In Dujiangyan, a city midway between Chengdu and the epicenter, mangled bodies could be seen lying on the streets covered in blue tarpaulin.

Doctors at a small hospital were treating patients outside the building. Structures that have not collapsed were evacuated as residents remained on the streets, fearing aftershocks.

A witness said it had been raining all day.