Something about the Sichuan earthquake

China in mourning over earthquake

China has begun three days of mourning for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province.

Flags are flying at half-mast and a nationwide silence has been observed to mark the time it struck a week ago.

More than 71,000 people are dead, buried or missing following Monday's 7.9 magnitude quake, state media say. More than 220,000 people were injured.

And as aid efforts continued, the media said mudslides had buried 200 relief workers in the last three days.

A local official said there had been some fatalities, but the numbers of dead and injured were not known.

The workers were said to have been repairing damaged roads. Two construction machines and six vehicles were also buried, Xinhua news agency said, quoting a transport ministry official.

Strong aftershocks are continuing to shake the region, hampering the rescue effort.

On Sunday, a tremor with a magnitude of 6.0 killed three people and injured 1,000 more in Jiangyou city, in Sichuan province's Mianyang County.

Continuing heavy rain in Sichuan is also raising fears of new flooding and landslides.

The relief effort is now shifting towards providing food, medical care and shelter for the millions of survivors.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government said the country was expected to make direct economic losses of 67bn yuan ($9.5bn), approximately 0.27% of Gross Domestic Product, as a result of the disaster.

Sichuan is not a major industrial base, but there was extensive damage to factories and mines in neighbouring Gansu and Chongqing provinces.

Trading halt

The mourning comes as hopes fade of finding many more earthquake survivors. The total number of confirmed dead rose to 34,073, the Chinese government said.

The BBC's Quentin Somerville in Beichuan says this is the first time China as a nation has marked an occasion like this for its people.

At a dawn ceremony in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, soldiers raised the national flag and then lowered it to half-mast to mark the start of official mourning.

All public entertainment has been cancelled and presenters on state television are wearing black.

At 1428 local time (0628 GMT), people across the country fell silent for three minutes as air-raid sirens and car horns wailed.

Traffic froze and construction workers downed tools, while in Beijing's Tiananmen Square thousands gathered, heads bowed, for a solemn military ceremony.

Up to Monday 19 May:

34,073 dead

9,509 buried and 29,418 missing in Sichuan province

220,109 injured

145 aftershocks above level 4, 23 above level 5, biggest 6.1

34,000 medical staff in quake zone

181,460 tents, 220,000 quilts despatched

6bn Chinese yuan ($860m, £440m) received in donations, from China and abroad

Drinking water for 7m people restored

Source: Chinese government