Quake-stricken areas of southwestern China, including the hard-hit Wenchuan and Beichuan counties of Sichuan Province, will see less rain in the next seven days, which should improve conditions for rescue and relief work, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) forecast on Thursday.

The CMA said Sichuan Province, the city of Chongqing and southern parts of Gansu and Shaanxi provinces would have light showers on Friday night, Saturday and next Wednesday.

Weather in those quake-hit areas will be mostly cloudy in the next week, according to the forecast.

The CMA also warned that previous rainfall, coupled with the devastating quake, will add to the probability of landslides, collapses or mud-rock flows on Thursday night in Sichuan and the western part of Yunnan Province.

Previous heavy rain in southern Sichuan, especially in the epicenter, has increased the difficulties of relief work.

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the 7.8-magnitude quake had killed 14,866 people as of 2:00 PM on Wednesday in the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Shanxi, Guizhou and Hubei and the city of Chongqing.

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2008)