China is rushing to secure safe drinking water for millions of people made homeless by a devastating earthquake in a bid to head off epidemics that could heighten the death toll.

The China Daily says the effort to battle potential epidemics focused on supplying fresh drinking water and improving sanitary conditions for millions of people forced to live in tent cities or out in the open.

China's President Hu Jintao has urged rescuers in the southwestern province of Sichuan to race to save lives, days after a destructive earthquake.

Xinhua news agency says many survivors were found on Saturday, five days after the disaster.

China has put the known death toll at over 28,000 but says it expects it to exceed 50,000.

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