Up till 4pm Sunday local time, rescuers had altogether saved more than 36,000 people from the debris in the quake-hit areas in Sichuan.

Vice governor Li Chengyun said another 2.6 million tents are still in urgent need when he was reporting the latest development of the relief work in the provincial capital of Chengdu.

"A massive amount of food, drinking water, medicine, equipment and other aid materials are on the way to the quake-stricken area. But we are still in short supply of tents. We need another 2.6 million tents to roughly satisfy the need of the victims for housing, schooling and medical treatment."

Li Chengyun said the water from 52 sources in the quake-hit regions meets the standard for drinking water at the moment. The water quality has remained much the same as before the earthquake.

The vice governor also said there has not been any outbreak of serious epidemics so far in Sichuan.

It is reported that 10,600 people are still buried in the rubble and intense search and rescue efforts are continuing.