CHALLENGES

Since rescue vehicles are given priority on reopened roads, Xinhua journalists have to walk to the epicenter. Newly built houses have proven more quake-resistant, but those built on the mountain nearly all collapsed.

The journalists saw many migrant workers, old and young, with food and other supplies rushing to their hometown, and even a young mother carrying her baby on her back. These people cannot connect their family and are understandably worried.

Although cracks appeared on the walls of Longquan Middle School, it is one of the few places in the quake zone that can ensure communication signals, and is serving as a headquarters for rescuers and medical workers.

Telecommunication and transportation are the main problems the area needs to solve.

Quake-triggered landslides have blocked roads to the worst-hit areas, making it very difficult to transport injured residents and relief materials, several rescuers told Xinhua.

Their work has been hampered by continuous downpours, which have disrupted traffic, lowered temperatures in the remote area, and made food and medicine shortages even more dangerous.

Thundershowers and downpours are forecast in Ludian over the next few days, and temperatures could drop to 17 degrees centigrade at night.

Late on Sunday night, President Xi Jinping ordered that authorities concerned give top priority to saving people's lives, minimize casualties and guarantee a proper settlement for quake victims.

Premier Li Keqiang on Monday called for rescue of people to be given top priority as he gave instructions aboard a plane rushing to the quake zone.

He also called for all-out efforts to treat the injured and for those suffering serious injuries to be transferred to better hospitals in nearby regions.

Rescuers have evacuated residents threatened by a lake which was formed by the quake in Jiangbian Village, Zhixiang Township of Huize County. It had inundated 20 houses.

Xinhua journalists in Ludian County seat saw drenched survivors sitting along muddy roads waiting for food and medication. Some half-naked survivors were trembling in the rain.

Medics in Ludian's Longquan Village told Xinhua that they have severe shortages of medicine, and that local conditions are too poor to perform operations for the severely injured.

"Critically injured patients keep coming, but we are unable to carry out operations for many of them," one of the doctors working at a makeshift tent in the village said. "It is impossible to deal with severe injuries such as brain hemorrhages in such conditions."

The quake is the strongest to hit Yunnan in 14 years, according to Zhang Junwei, an official with the Yunnan Earthquake Administration.

Ludian has a population of 400,000, or a density of 265 people per sq km, far above the average of 110 people per sq km in Yunnan, said Zhang.

Houses, mostly made of wood, bricks and concrete, were too fragile to resist the quake. All these factors contributed to the heavy casualties, he said.

As of 3 p.m. on Monday, 460 aftershocks have been recorded in the quake-hit region, including four measuring between 4.0 and 4.9 magnitude, said Li Fei, spokesman for the Yunnan Earthquake Administration.

Li warned that strong aftershocks may occur and secondary disasters such as landslides are possible in the rainy season.

Traffic on a main road linking the Longtoushan and the county seat eased on Monday morning after hours of gridlock after the quake. Large numbers of the injured are being transferred to the county's hospital via the road by ambulance.

Yunnan will provide 20,000 yuan (about 3,226 U.S. dollars) in compensation to the family of each deceased person. Officials with the Yunnan Provincial Department of Civil Affairs told Xinhua that a large number of tents, cotton quilts and fold-out beds had been stored in Zhaotong and Ludian, but there have been problems having them delivered to the quake-hit areas.

On Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, netizens have poured out grief and sympathy.

"Hold on, Yunnan, I'm saying my prayers for you," one wrote.

"Seeing the photos on the Internet breaks my heart; may all of us cherish our loved ones," posted another.