China has raised the number of dead or missing from last week's earthquake to more than 70,000.

A government statement said the number killed had now topped 40,000, and state news agency Xinhua reported that a further 32,000 were missing.

Authorities had previously said they expected the final death toll to exceed 50,000. More than 247,000 were injured.

Rescuers are still finding survivors eight days after the huge tremor hit. A 60-year-old woman was rescued in Pengzhou, more than 196 hours after the quake struck. It was reported she had survived on rainwater.

Some ten people were pulled off a mountain near Shifang town where they had been building an electricity generation station when the quake struck.

Meanwhile, anger is growing among bereaved parents in Sichuan over the way many school buildings collapsed, burying whole classrooms full of children.

In Juyuan town, hundreds of grieving parents demanded an annual memorial day for their children, punishment of officials or builders responsible for shoddy schools and compensation.

"How come all the houses didn't fall down, but the school did? And how come that happened in so many places?" demanded Zhao, whose twin daughters were crushed to death.

"We want a memorial day for the children, but we also want criminal prosecution of those responsible, no matter who they are."

Elsewhere, nearly 9,000 people have been evacuated from the base of Shiziliang Mountain near Guangyuan city over concerns about huge cracks on its slopes.

And Beichuan, one the of the worst hit towns, was closed off after official warnings of fresh tremors.

In the provincial capital of Chengdu, tens of thousands of people were preparing to sleep another night in the open, despite pleas by authorities for calm after a television prediction of another powerful earthquake.

That report, along with fresh aftershocks and forecast heavy rain, compounded the difficulties for military, government and private workers trying to ensure millions of homeless are fed and housed.

Hundreds of aftershocks have been felt over the past week, bringing down more buildings and causing landslides.

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