Salvano Briceno, head of the UN's International Strategy for Disaster Reduction agency, told AFP that modern buildings in the boom towns of China's east coast "are built with great care" to withstand earthquakes.

Sichuan province, at the centre of the 7.9-scale earthquake, "is unfortunately not yet in this position," he said.

"It's a poor region with very old buildings," Briceno added.

The UN official said he understood why China has prioritised its vast and prosperous eastern cities when improving quake-proof buildings.

"In such a huge country, you can't hope that everything will be done all at once," he said.

China said Thursday that over 50,000 people had likely died in the devastating earthquake that hit its southwest, levelling whole towns.

Experts said the search-and-rescue operation was entering its most crucial phase yet four days after the quake struck, with the chances of finding survivors diminishing by the hour.

Briceno said that even with a quake of such magnitude, it is still possible to construct buildings that can withstand tremors as long as they are not on faultlines.

He also stressed that it is crucial that hospitals and schools apply quake-resistant norms.

In one middle school in Qingchuan county, nearly 180 children taking their afternoon nap were crushed to death when the earthquake struck.

Concerns have also been raised about the number of hydroelectric dams and chemical factories in the region.

Briceno said that whilst nowadays all such buildings have to be made to very strict standards the world over, this is not the case for older sites.

China warned Thursday it faces flood risks from dams in the earthquake zone, hinting at a nightmare scenario critics of the region's hydroelectric projects have long warned of.

Authorities have already opened spillways at the Zipingpu Dam near the quake's epicentre in southwest China to ensure the safety of a nearby city, amid fears it may have been damaged, the state Xinhua news agency reported.

Critics have long warned that excessive building of dams to harness southwestern China's vast hydropower potential was a recipe for disaster, saying a major quake could unleash catastrophic flooding that would wipe out millions.

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