(Construction workers work on a resettlement site for the victims of the May 12 quake in Dujiangyan, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 20, 2008. A resettlement residence project has started here on May 17 and is expected to be ready on May 27. [Xinhua])

The Chinese government is grappling with the next urgent task in the aftermath of last week's 8.0-magnitude deadly earthquake -- how to shelter up to 5 million residents in Sichuan Province who are now homeless.

Many were living in tent cities like one at the base of Qianfo Mountain in the disaster zone, offering some stability -- along with food and medical care -- to those whose lives were upended during the quake.

"After the quake, we couldn't sleep for five days. We were really, really afraid," said Chen Shigui, a 55-year-old farmer who climbed for two days with his wife and injured father to reach the Qianfo camp from their mountain village. "I felt relieved when we got here. It's much safer compared to my home."

But there's not enough room to go around.

The government issued an urgent appeal Tuesday for tents and brought in the first foreign teams of doctors and field hospitals, some of whom were swapping out with overseas search and rescue specialists.

The switch underscored a shift in the response to China's worst natural disaster in three decades from an emergency stage to one of recovery and rehabilitation -- and for many, perhaps, enduring hardship before a stable life.

The earthquake's confirmed death toll, according to the State Council Information Office, rose to more than 40,000 on Tuesday, with at least 10,000 more deaths expected, as officials said more than 32,000 people remained missing.