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.

A giant, colorful pile of donated clothing lies in one corner, and dozens of women looking through it. Men in red vests regularly sweep and clean the area. Another area is a donation drop-off for a stream of well-wishers from neighboring villages.

Among them was Tan Xuqiong, a 36-year-old teacher who came with her 18-year-old son to drop off boxes of water, food, and medicine.

"My hometown was only slightly affected. When I see these people living like this, I feel very sad. The contrast is shocking," said Tan, who is from Deyang city.

Each person in the camp receives regular daily rations: three bottles of water, a package of instant noodles, bread, and some crackers. Families also received small radios and copies of the local Mianyang Daily newspaper.

Loudspeakers regularly blare announcements about hygiene and reminders to get daily health checks -- a precaution against possible disease outbreaks.

The clinic is staffed by eight physicians and six nurses — all volunteers with China's Red Cross. Running from 6 am to 11 pm, the medical staff sees about 1,000 patients a day, said Ye Mao, a 51-year-old orthopedic surgeon from southern Guangdong province.

"The biggest problem is the density of the camps. If an infection breaks out, it can spread very quickly," he said. No outbreaks have been reported.

A Russian mobile hospital arrived Tuesday in the provincial capital of Chengdu, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said, and other medical teams were headed in from Germany, Italy, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong.