The quake death toll has risen to 55,239 in Sichuan alone as of 7:00 p.m. Thursday, said Li Chengyun, vice governor of the quake-hit province in southwest China Friday.

About 83,988 people were rescued. The quake also injured 281,066, while 24,949 are still missing, said Li.

The tremor has left several million people homeless, as more than 5.46 million houses collapsed and more than 5.93 million others badly damaged in Sichuan, Li told a press conference held by the Information Office of the State Council.

The strong tremor also devastated roads, railways, bridges, water concervancies and factories, and cut off electricity and communication.

Sichuan have started to investigate the quake-caused economic loss, and production is in gradual restoration, he noted.

Thirty-three roads there remained blocked for about 11 days, workers are still rushing against time to repair the paths that lead to townships and villages in the worst-hit area.

He said the mountains have been shaken loose in the earthquake and more than 7,000 aftershocks had occurred, causing frequent landslides that blocked roads and rivers.

He added that power supply has not reached five of the 1,307 townships, which have suffered blackout since the earthquake. But telecommunications have been basically restored in the province.

The official stressed that rescuing survivors, relocating people, disease prevention, monitoring potential pose-quake disasters and post-quake reconstruction are the priority tasks.

The vice governor reiterated that tents, makeshift houses, cleaning and water-spray vehicles, and sanitary equipment are in great demand.

Li said the post-disaster reconstruction mission will take three years, including building new villages, townships and cities in Sichuan, where 19 of the total 21 cities and prefectures covering 100,000 square kilometers were seriously ruined.

He promised to provide residence for people in proper locations before winter comes.

About 5.4 billion yuan (771 million U.S. dollars) of special relief funds has been in place and the province has received donations worth 2.8 billion yuan.

In order to build new homes for the homeless and recover basic infrastructures, the central government has announced 70 billion yuan of funds on relief and reconstruction work, and pledged further reconstruction funding to be allocated later, if needed.

However, the May 12 catastrophe has claimed 55,740 lives in China as of Friday noon, taking into account of the victims in regions outside Sichuan, latest figures offered by the Information Office of the State Council showed.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2008)