The brutal cold facing China and hampering relief efforts after last week's earthquake now poses an emergency threat, according to Red Cross relief workers. To make matters worse, temperatures well below zero degrees Fahrenheit are in the forecast for the rest of the week.
Residents fight the cold by building temporary shelters with rocks and rubble from the quake.
The quake measured 6.2 on the Richter scale and so far has claimed 50 lives. Officials expect the cold weather to claim more lives, Hurlburt says. More than 8,000 people were injured during the earthquake and 1,200 sustained serious injuries. Because of the cold a return to normalcy is not likely to happen soon, Hurlburt says. The ground will not thaw until May, holding up relief efforts.