The building of makeshift housing and tents for more than 44,000 people made homeless by the Hebei earthquake should be completed by tomorrow, officials in the relief operation centre at Zhangjiakou said yesterday.
Victims have been battling against freezing temperatures since last Saturday's disaster and authorities fear a further cold front is moving in.
Yan Fensheng, a rescue worker with the city's Civil Affairs Department, said one more person had died, raising the toll to 50. More than 12,000 were injured.
A spokesman for Zhangjiakou's propaganda department, Liu Wenjun, said snowfalls which started on Wednesday had begun to taper off.
The snow had been quickly cleared from roads, and transport to the area had not been affected, with aid pouring in, he said.
'The freeze has added to the victims' misery,' said Mr Liu.
