China intensifies quake rescue but hopes dim

DUJIANGYAN, China (Reuters) - China ordered fresh waves ofhelicopters and aid to earthquake-devastated areas as the sheermagnitude of caring for tens of thousands of homeless survivorsthreatened to overwhelm relief efforts.

The Communist Party leadership told officials to "ensuresocial stability" as Monday's 7.9 magnitude quake insouth-western Sichuan province spawned rumours of chemicalspills, fears that dams could burst and scenes of collectivegrief.

The official death toll estimate from Monday's quake stoodat 14,866. But as search teams sift, often bare-handed, throughtowns turned to rubble, that number is likely to balloon. Andthe strains from tens of thousands of homeless are growing.

But a new threat emerged as officials warned of uncertainrisks from numerous dams that were damaged in the quake zone.

"Especially in Sichuan province, there are many dams,damage from the quake is extensive and the hazards areunclear," Minister for Water Resources Chen Lei said in thespeech that was posted on the ministry Web site(www.mwr.gov.cn) on Thursday.

Chinese state media have said troops rushed to repaircracks in the Zipingpu Dam.

Investors, meanwhile, were upbeat, with many Sichuan-areashares outperforming the main index's rise of 0.54 percent duein part to expectations of demand from rescue andreconstruction efforts.

In Dujiangyan and other hard-hit cities and towns, manyresidents have had to sleep outside or in makeshift shelters,fearing more tremors and building collapses.

"In one minute the city we know flew away. I never dreamtit could happen," said He Lixia, a teacher in Dujiangyan.

Wang Yujie, a teacher whose school withstood the quake,said getting more water was now residents' most immediate need.

"There is enough food but not enough water, we have onlyhad bottled mineral water the past few days, nothing to cookwith," she said as she queued beside a water truck.

In some villages near the badly hit area of Beichuan, angryresidents complained they had had little to eat and were forcedto drink contaminated water to keep themselves alive.

Unhygienic waste was also a growing problem as temporarytoilets failed to keep up with demand.

PICKING THROUGH RUBBLE

The ruling Chinese Communist Party's Standing Committee metlate on Wednesday to assess the calamity that has thrown ashadow over preparations for the Beijing Olympics in August.

The government ordered fresh waves of troops to bedispatched, raising the total to some 130,000 committed to theeffort, and 100 more helicopters to help send rescuers andsupplies to areas blocked by buckled roads, state media said.

"As long as there is a glimmer of hope, spare no efforts inrescuing," the Party leadership ordered, according to Xinhua.

But the waves of rescuers appear to be hampered by lack ofspecialised equipment.

In the Sichuan town of Hanwang, huge cranes were working atsome sites to clear demolished buildings, but at other sitesresidents picked through the rubble by hand.

Into the fourth day since the quake, hopes of pullingsurvivors from crushed homes, schools and factories dimmed.

In Dujiangyan, rescuers wrapped corpses dragged from therubble in tarpaulins, and after allowing relatives to brieflymourn, sped them to morgues. They were so busy that a noticeoutside one collapsed school, where locals said 300 childrendied, asked parents to search for missing children in shifts.

"Because there is a heavy work load at the morgue we havearranged first for the parents of years 1, 2, 3 students to goand then organise for the parents of year 4, 5, 6 students," itsaid.

Offers of help were pouring in.

Blood banks in Beijing reached saturation point, with atleast 3,300 people in the capital donated blood in a single dayon Tuesday.

China also overlooked its hostility toward Taiwan, theself-governing island it sees as a breakaway province, to allowin chartered flights full of supplies. A Japanese relief teamwas also headed to Sichuan, China's Foreign Ministry said.

There were signs in some towns that more officials werearriving to organise the relief efforts, but many places werestill a chaotic mess of makeshift tent cities.

DANGEROUS DAMAGE

The disaster area is home to China's chief nuclear weaponsresearch lab in Mianyang, as well as several secretive atomicsites, but no nuclear power stations.

The China Nuclear Engineering and Construction Corpreported that several of its facilities in Sichuan were damagedby the quake, with six staff killed.

The report on its Web site (www.cnecc.com) did not describethe facilities or mention any radiation leaks. A Western expertwith knowledge of the Mianyang lab said it was not likely thefacilities were put at serious risk. He requested anonymity.

Landslides had blocked the flow of two rivers in northernQingchuan county, forming a huge lake in the region.

"The rising water could cause the mountains to collapse. Wedesperately need geological experts to carry out tests and fixa rescue plan," Xinhua quoted Li Hao, the Communist Party chiefof the county, as saying.

Premier Wen Jiabao, a geologist himself, has made emotionalappeals from the disaster zone urging on workers and comfortingorphaned children and was set to travel on Thursday toQingchuan.

The quake was the worst to hit China since 1976 when up to300,000 died.

(Writing by Chris Buckley and Lindsay Beck; Additionalreporting by Ben Blanchard and John Ruwitch; Editing by KenWills)