The death toll from the Wenchuan earthquake has risen to 40,075 nationwide with 247,645 injured. Those figures are as of 6:00 PM Tuesday and were released by the State Council.

The number of confirmed deaths in Sichuan Province alone is 39,577 and 236,359 injured as of 4:00 PM today. To date, 159 aftershocks measuring above 4.0 on the Richter scale have been recorded in Sichuan. Twenty six of the aftershocks were above magnitude 5.0, and other four above magnitude 6.

Also, the China Earthquake Networks Center says an aftershock measuring 5 on the Richter scale jolted Pingwu County in Sichuan early on Tuesday. The Sichuan Seismological Bureau says another aftershock with a magnitude of six to seven is likely to hit the epicenter, Wenchuan. The bureau has warned local governments and survivors to be prepared for another emergency.

(CCTV May 21, 2008)