International rescue crews are in China ready to help pull survivors and bodies from the area hit hardest by this week's powerful earthquake.
Teams from Japan, Russia, Singapore and South Korea have joined the efforts now that China has dropped its initial reluctance to accept foreign personnel. Taiwan has also dispatched a team, along with life-detecting equipment and a rescue dog.
China says the death toll is now above 22,000.
Officials tell state media in China that this is the first time the country has accepted outside professionals for domestic disaster relief.
Officials say China has also received 457 million dollars in donated money and goods for rescue efforts.
A catastrophe risk modeling firm is estimating that losses to both insured and uninsured property will likely exceed 20 billion dollars.