"The quake-hit areas are in urgent need of portable toilets," Jiang said. Conditions in the temporary accommodation areas were becoming inconvenient and insanitary.

Forty portable toilets were available in Beijing, Shanghai, and Chongqing to be transported to Sichuan, and 10 were en route, Jiang said.

The ministry also planned to send 3,000 portable gas burners to quake areas, so that people could cook, instead of living on biscuits and instant noodles, Jiang said.

He said the ministry was working on plans for temporary housing, as permanent homes would take time to build.

"It's possible that we could build in the near future some houses where people could live for two or three years, but some people would rather accept subsidies and look for housing from their relatives and friends," Jiang said.

The ministry would send experts to Sichuan to study proposals, and the final plan would be subject to the approval of the State Council, he said.

A 45-strong panel of building safety experts were also sent into quake areas to inspect homes that suffered minor damage, he said. Residents were still afraid of staying inside their own homes even if there were only some small cracks in the walls.

"People could move indoors again once some houses were proved to be safe, and this would bring some relief to survivors."

Damage to buildings in the quake-hit areas was extensive, said Jiang, who had just returned from Sichuan Province.

More than 4 million apartments and homes had been damaged or destroyed in Sichuan, Jiang said, citing provincial government figures from two days ago.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2008)