Rescue and clearance work is now progressing well in Shifang. Traffic has been rapidly restored and post-earthquake epidemic prevention measures are in place. Some degree of normal life is being restored to the victims. Little by little, rescued villagers have been resettled.

To date, more than 16,000 people have been involved in Shifang's post-disaster rescue work, among them 22 regiments totaling 8,500 soldiers.

In the early morning of May 17, a disaster rescue troop of over 80 people from Singapore's Civil Defence Force brought four rescue vehicles and four search and rescue dogs to Shifang and moved quickly into operation at Hongbai township.

By May 17, the confirmed death toll in Shifang is 3,378. 31,866 are injured, 2,602 missing, 2,014 still buried and 325,000 buildings have collapsed.

The medical treatment centers have dealt with over 6,340 injured, with more than 2,100 treated and released.

Over 333 hectares of farmland have been destroyed, partly through landslide, worth over 80 million yuan. 3,066 hectares of rape and wheat production have been lost at a cost of over 3 million yuan, while more than 7,000 greenhouses and 250 million sacks of edible fungi were damaged or destroyed, together worth 960 million yuan.

Saturday 17 May : Lin Minhui, Singapore consul in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province, told China.org.cn by telephone that a Singaporean rescue team had arrived at Chengdu airport at 7:30 pm Friday 16th, and had reached Shifang City by 10:00 pm the same evening.

Saturday 17 May : Lin Minhui, Singapore consul in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province, told China.org.cn by telephone that a Singaporean rescue team had arrived at Chengdu airport at 7:30 pm Friday 16th, and had reached Shifang City by 10:00 pm the same evening.

Saturday 17 May : Lin Minhui, Singapore consul in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province, told China.org.cn by telephone that a Singaporean rescue team had arrived at Chengdu airport at 7:30 pm Friday 16th, and had reached Shifang City by 10:00 pm the same evening.

(China.org.cn by Cheng Shengzhong and Wang Wei, May 17, 2008)