A week after a 7.9 magnitude earthquake killed a reported 32,000 and left up to 4.8 million people homeless in China's southwestern Sichuan province, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has now provided over 210 tons of relief supplies as well as medical assistance to the survivors.

MSF teams have been working with the Chinese Red Cross and other local health authorities to assess additional needs in the affected area that is extremely populated and covers an area nearly as large as France.

MSF teams carried out assessments throughout the weekend as roads have been further cleared and it is gradually possible to reach areas closer to the earthquake's epicentre. Basic necessities such as food, water, and shelter are largely being met, although there is still a need for specialized medical care and equipment as hospitals in the region have been severely damaged and many are unusable.

With the distribution and logistical support of the Chengdu Red Cross, MSF has now donated 1750 family tents to the relief effort, with an additional 2000 planned for delivery this week.

An MSF team, including an orthopedic surgeon and a medical doctor, is supporting a triage referral center in Guanghan city in the hard-hit prefecture of Deyang. The hospital there is treating severely injured patients air-lifted from the cities of Shifeng, Mianzhu, and Beichuan which were all heavily damaged by the earthquake. In addition, MSF has donated medicines and medical supplies to this hospital.

MSF also visited several locations in Guanghan where people left homeless from the earthquake have settled temporarily. Basic necessities have largely been met by the government and the local population.

MSF also visited and supplied medical materials and tents to two state-run hospitals in Hanwang, Mianzhu city, approximately 60 kilometers east of the epicenter. Both hospitals suffered severe structural damage in the earthquake and all medical activities are now being carried out in open-air tents near the hospital grounds. The hospital staff - the majority of whom have been directly affected by the quake themselves - are exhausted.

Over the weekend, MSF donated 20 large-size tents for patients and clinics to each of the two hospitals and is exploring the possibility of additional support.

A team of two nephrologists from the University of Ghent, Belgium, and a third from Hong Kong, all specialists in "crush syndrome", are working in collaboration with MSF providing expertise on treating the condition in three of the largest hospitals with orthopedic and trauma capacities in the provincial capital of Chengdu, where many of the quake victims have been transported. They have also shared experience on the diagnosis and treatment of the condition in a hospital in Guanghan.

Crush syndrome is a condition in which muscle tissue damaged by severe internal injury may release massive quantities of toxins into the bloodstream and lead to kidney failure. Left untreated, crush syndrome can be fatal.

An MSF psychologist with experience in mental health in the aftermath of traumatic events is sharing experience at Chengdu's Huaxi Hospital, which is a major training and referral hospital for mental health in the region. Huaxi Hospital is mobilizing and training hundreds of students to help provide mental health assistance to survivors of the earthquake.

This week, MSF teams will continue to assess the needs in the affected region and provide assistance where appropriate. Currently, MSF has 23 staff in the quake-affected regions.