Day 9, May 20 2008, Tuesday

Death toll: 40,075
Injury toll: 247, 645
Missing toll: 32, 361
Aftershocks measuring over 4 on Richter scale : 159

Donations in cash and kind received from the Chinese public: 1.39 billion yuan (US$ 199 million)
Donations in cash received from the Chinese public: 1.25 billion yuan (US$ 179 million)

Supplies despatched to the affected areas by the government and military ( source: Xinhua)
Tents: 278, 462
Blankets: 783, 984
Warm coats: 1.783 million


Dogs are a woman's best friend

196 hours and that was how long one 60-year-old woman survived. If 196 means little at first glance, what about considering it is almost 5 whole days after the 72-hour window after which experts say the chances of survival are minimal? Her survival is nothing short of phenomenal.

Wang Youxiong had arrived from Chengdu to pay her respects at a local Buddhist temple on April 30, almost two weeks before the quake. She decided to stay for a month more, before going back to celebrate China's Children's Day with her grandson on June 1.

When the quake struck, she was at the temple, and had been fine until a gush of concrete rushed by her and trapped her between two big rocks. For the last eight days she had been subsisting on rain water. Two dogs kept her company, constantly licking her face and lips and kept barking. And it was upon hearing these dogs that the rescuers reached Wang.

Wang was in an astonishingly conscious state after being saved. She even managed to relay her son's mobile phone number to nurses, an amazing feat considering here in China, they consist of 11 digits. Her son was contacted. After days of visiting the area, posting notices on various media, he finally got the call he had been waiting for.

And according to Wang, it had been the thought of her son and two grandchildren that kept her going.

Another man too survived for 178 hours. Pulled out from Ying Xiu township, he appeared to be conscious and was even able to relay his family's contact number to rescuers. In this township alone, 10 people have been saved after being trapped for 100 hours or more.



The business of burying the dead and settling the living

The Department of Civil Affairs addressed queries on the conditions of rescue sites. Records are made and DNA samples taken from the bodies after they are photographed, before they are cremated. The World Health Organisation says there is no health risk associated with the bodies lying in the open, but Chinese authorities are burning or burying the remains nonetheless to preserve the dignity of the dead.

There is also a need to provide shelter for the 5 million who have been left homeless. Factories have added more shifts to cope with the 700,000 more tents which have been ordered by the authorities to house the stranded.

In the midst of the crisis, two groups have been arrested for fraud. Using the name of the Red Cross, they sent out mass SMSes to mobile phones, asking for donations to the cause of the helping the victims.

Among those affected are the pandas in Sichuan's reserves. Apart for three missing ones, the rest have all been evacuated to safety. Sichuan is one of the few provinces left in China to have pandas in the wild.

Latest series of photos of the rescued pandas



VIDEO OF THE DAY

Ａhaunting photo essay with some of the most iconic images of the days gone by since the day the quake struck, set to an instrumental blend of strings and Chinese traditional instruments.