Rain adds to suffering of displaced residents

Light rain late Sunday night led to a temperature drop and also dampened the morale of affected residents following a Saturday earthquake that devastated parts of Sichuan Province, including Lingguan township, Baoxing county.

Rain infiltrated makeshift shelters and soaked bedding, while the temperature fell below 10 C late at night, causing some residents to cough violently due to the sharp temperature drop and high humidity.

Xue Shuqiong, who took shelter in a homemade tent on a high school playground, cried when talking about her quake-damaged three-story house, whose construction in 2010 cost her and her husband their life savings.

The quake almost flattened it, with the ground sinking and cracks seen everywhere on the walls. "I don't know when I can have a new house. I also have no idea when we can lead a normal life," Xue said.

Schoolchildren also became the focus of concern amid uncertainties over when school would resume. A teenage girl in Shangba village, under the jurisdiction of Lingguan, wept when talking about school life. She is now living in a tent with her family members in a truck.

On Monday, the third day after the quake, two groups of troops were finally sent to several of the hardest-hit villages in the county, when the 72-hour golden period for rescue was about to run out.

The villages, including Mupingzhai and Dagou, which have been cut off from relief teams due to downed telecommunications, saw at least two bodies retrieved as of press time.

The road that connects the county and the township was finally opened Monday, a piece of good news indicating that supplies would be delivered. By press time, dozens of tons of relief goods including medicine, tents, bottled water and food had been sent through.

However, it was still dangerous to drive on the road, which was subject to sporadic landslides. The Global Times reporter witnessed egg-size stones fall onto the middle of the road.

Special report: 7.0-magnitude earthquake jolts Ya'an