China said today it could "guarantee" there would be no epidemics in the eathquake zone, while some survivors complained their farmland was being bulldozed to make way for temporary housing.
Where bodies crushed under buildings in the devastating May 12th tremor could not be cremated, they had been been buried deep underground and far from water sources to prevent contamination, Health Ministry spokesman Mao Qunan said.
Camps had been disinfected and people warned of health risks.
"Theoretically, when there is a large movement of people, the risk increases for the spread of transmittable diseases," he said on a webcast on central government website www.gov.cn.
"We have the ability and the confidence to guarantee there will be no epidemics after the disaster."
China has mobilised its military to unblock roads, clear rubble and deliver food, water and tents to millions displaced by the quake. Rescuers are racing to clear swollen "quake lakes" and set up housing before the summer rainy season begins.
A total of 69,019 people have been confirmed dead as of midday today local time, with 18,627 missing and 373,573 injured.
A tent city has sprung up in Anxian, just off a main road running through mountain fields of corn and watermelons.
Pre-fabricated houses are going up, as they are elsewhere, to provide more long-term shelters away from the stifling heat of leaky tents.
In nearby Yongan, 95 per cent of the houses are uninhabitable, but many people survived the quake because they were out in the fields when it struck in the early afternoon.
Some were grumbling that their farmland, with crops also including beans, cabbages and citrus fruit, was now being bulldozed for the prefab housing.
"Our biggest concern is the future and how we will live," one woman said. "The government is using our land, so how are we meant to earn anything?"
The earthquake has gripped China, unleashing a flood of donations and volunteers to help in relief work. Domestic and foreign donations have reached 41.7 billion yuan ($6 billion).
Troops withdrew from a dangerous quake lake formed by a massive landslide at Tangjiashan after clearing a channel for water to flow out from behind the blockage. The water had risen to within seven metres of the lowest point of the unstable natural dam by this weekend, threatening downstream communities.
Trucks trundled across Sichuan with materials for pre-fabricated housing.
In Yingxiu, dynamite was being used to clear rubble and unsafe buildings. Workers vigorously sprayed disinfectant as overcast and muggy weather settled in.
"As time goes by, the major killers of inpatients are multiple organ failure and complicated drug-resistant infection, instead of crush syndrome and acute renal failure in early periods after the quake," ministry spokesman Mao said.
He said deep burial of the dead in Sichuan had been "scientifically handled" and water sources would not be contaminated.