As of Saturday, the death toll from the May 12th earthquake in Sichuan rose to nearly 70,000, with about 18,000 still missing.

As relief continues, nearly 200,000 people have been evacuated to high ground in case one of the many quake lakes in the region breaches a dam.

Hundreds of troops using 40 bulldozers and heavy excavating machines are working around-the-clock at the Tangjiashan barrier lake to dig channels that will drain the lake safely.

Sun Sheng is Commander-in-Chief of Guangdong's Public Security Border Control Bureau.

"On the morning of June 30, we woke up at 6 a.m., left at 7 a.m. and reached the campsite at 7:30 a.m."

The Tangjiashan barrier lake is the largest of more than 30 quake lakes that have formed behind landslides caused by the major earthquake.

Weak man-made dams in the disaster zone have been a cause for worry by local residents.

"People are talking about one-third of the dam bursting and the total dam bursting which are quite confusing to me and now I cannot watch TV so I have no idea of what's happening. We probably will need to stay here for a long time."

"They stop the tap water supply, and the toilet is not being washed, so it is very smelly to us, and the kids can't take it."

More than 180 thousand people in the city of Mianyang have been moved to higher ground that authorities consider safe.

Sichuan TV reported that workers have finished digging a channel to relieve water pressure in the lake. Altogether, they removed 120,000 cubic meters of earth.

Relief workers are now monitoring the water levels in the dam as well as changes in its shape and soil conditions.