With the May 12 earthquake death toll already standing at more than 65,000, officials desperate to avoid another disaster sent 1,800 troops and engineers to try to reduce the dangerously high water levels in the lake.

But thunderstorms predicted to sweep across the mountainous region of Sichuan province on Tuesday threatened to make it a race against time.

The lake, now holding 130 million cubic metres (4.6 billion cubic feet) of water, was created when the quake triggered a landslide that blocked the Jian river near the epicentre.

"We should work out the risk analysis reports as soon as possible because the rain upstream is raising the water level," Chen Lei, the minister of water resources, was quoted as saying in the China Daily.

The paper said 1.3 million people living in adjacent areas would be at risk if the lake overflowed. As a precaution, 30,000 people have already been evacuated to higher ground.

Liu Ning, the ministry's chief engineer overseeing the operation, said the water level on Monday was 725 metres -- just 26 metres below the lowest part of the barrier.

He said people had to be moved for their own safety. "It's better for them to complain about the trouble that the evacuation would bring than to shed tears after the possible danger," he told Shanghai-based Oriental TV.

Li Huzhang, an engineer with the paramilitary People's Armed Police, said at least 50,000 cubic metres of debris would have to be removed but that rescuers were aiming for 100,000 cubic metres to minimise the risk.

Engineers and soldiers took turns to work through the night, the state news agency Xinhua reported. Because of a lack of tents, some soldiers had to sleep outdoors on the debris.

The lake is inaccessible by road and the teams of soldiers, engineers and police had to hike through remote and mountainous terrain.

A PLA (People's Liberation Army) officer told Xinhua the soldiers each had 10 kilogrammes of dynamite and planned to carry out small blasts.

A contingent of 105 armed police from east China's Jiangxi province was expected to arrive in Sichuan on Wednesday and would be flown directly to the quake lake, Xinhua said.

The site is one of about 35 quake lakes that could cause huge problems if they burst, authorities have said.

Meanwhile, the forecast of more rain was causing jitters among locals living in makeshift camps near their collapsed homes.

"The tents are hot like ovens inside because they are in the direct sunlight," said 42-year-old Wang Sumu. "When it rains, they will be even more unbearable."

Since May 12, China has had to cope with thousands of quake aftershocks and a myriad of other dangers while trying to bring food, shelter and medical help to the millions left homeless across an area the size of South Korea.

More than 23,000 people are listed as missing, meaning the death toll from China's worst quake in a generation could rise to over 80,000.

The area was rocked by its biggest aftershock yet on Sunday, killing eight people, toppling tens of thousands of damaged buildings and underlining the lingering risks from the quake, which measured 8.0 on the Richter scale.

The government said last week that just over 5.4 million people lost their homes. Many now live in tents or hastily erected units in temporary camps, but an untold number are still living without any shelter at all.

Authorities have, however, relaxed China's strict family planning policies for bereaved families, state press reported.

New guidelines allow couples who lost their only child to have a second as long as they get official permission, the Chengdu Evening News said.

China's one-child policy generally permits families living in urban areas to have one child and rural families two if the first is a girl.

The quake struck in the middle of the day when schools were full, sending entire floors crashing down on each other and burying children before they had a chance to escape.

Many parents are now demanding answers as to why so many schools collapsed so easily, amid allegations of lax government oversight that permitted shoddy construction work.

earlier related report
China orders evacuation amid quake flood fears
Chinese authorities were Wednesday engaged in an all-out evacuation effort as a dangerously swelling lake formed by this month's devastating earthquake threatened to engulf the area.

As the death toll from the May 12 quake jumped to 67,000, state press said that emergency workers had wanted to move the residents from their homes near the so-called "quake lake" by midnight (1600 GMT) Tuesday.

Around 70,000 people were earlier removed from Beichuan County as concern rose that the lake -- formed when the quake triggered landslides that blocked the Jian river -- could overflow and surge downstream.

"The Tangjiashan quake lake should be our most urgent task," Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency on Wednesday after earlier visiting the site.

"It is threatening millions of lives in the area downstream and any negligence will cause new disasters to people who have already suffered the quake," he said.

Heightening the sense of fear still stalking China's southwestern Sichuan province, a strong aftershock measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale earlier rattled the area and was felt in the provincial capital Chengdu.

It was followed about 30 minutes later by a second aftershock measuring 5.7 that shook neighbouring Shaanxi province, state media reported.

Xinhua later said 420,000 houses had collapsed in Sichuan's Qingchuan County as a result of the aftershocks and 63 people there had been injured, six critically.

He Yongnian, former deputy director of the China Seismological Bureau, was quoted as saying that aftershocks could "last for two or three months," complicating already difficult quake relief efforts.

Authorities have had to cope with thousands of aftershocks and a myriad of other dangers while trying to provide food, shelter and medical help for the millions left homeless across an area the size of South Korea.

In Beijing, cabinet spokesman Guo Weimin said the confirmed death toll stood at 67,183, with a further 20,790 missing.

One of the most urgent tasks now is trying to prevent the lake -- one of 35 said to be at risk -- from spilling over and swamping an area that is home to some 1.3 million people.

Troops armed with dynamite are trying to blast channels through the debris blocking the river to reduce the level of the lake, thought to be holding some 130 million cubic metres (4.6 billion cubic feet) of water.

Liu Ning, the water resources ministry's chief engineer who is supervising the operation, said people were being moved for their own safety.

"It's better for them to complain about the trouble that the evacuation would bring than to shed tears after the possible danger," he said.

The lake is inaccessible by road and the teams of soldiers, engineers and police had to hike through remote and mountainous terrain.

Li Huzhang, an engineer in the paramilitary People's Armed Police, said at least 50,000 cubic metres of debris would have to be removed but rescuers were aiming for 100,000 cubic metres to minimise the risk.

However, predictions of further rain threatened to make the operation more difficult and caused jitters among locals living in makeshift camps near their collapsed homes.

Wang Sumu, 42, said the tents were "hot like ovens" in direct sunlight and "when it rains, they will be even more unbearable."

The government said last week that just over 5.4 million people lost their homes. Many now live in tents or hastily erected units in temporary camps, but an untold number are still living without any shelter at all.

Another concern is the possible spread of disease in the disaster zone. A health ministry spokesman said Tuesday that mass emergency vaccinations would be carried out, but reported no major outbreaks thus far.

For the grieving survivors of the quake, there was some minor consolation after authorities announced that China's strict family planning policies would be eased to allow parents who lost a child to have another.

New guidelines allow couples who lost their only child to have a second as long as they get official permission, the Chengdu Evening News said.

China's one-child policy generally allows families living in urban areas to have one child and rural families two if the first is a girl.

The quake struck in the middle of the day when schools were full, sending entire floors crashing down and burying children in their classrooms.

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