Residents stand in the street after Sunday's aftershock in Sichuan province. (Vincent Yu/Associated Press)A second strong aftershock rumbled through China's devastated earthquake zone early Sunday, hours after reports of a swollen river sent thousands of people in Sichuan province fleeing for higher ground.

The aftershock shook the area for about 45 seconds early Sunday local time, causing people to run out into the streets, reports said. Measured at 5.7 magnitude, it was the second strong aftershock to rattle the area in as many days.

In the Sichuan province city of Beichuan, thousands of residents and relief workers fled for higher ground on Saturday after reports said a river may burst its banks and flood the area.

Some rivers in the region have become blocked by landslides rattled loose in last Monday's 7.9-magnitude quake.

The official Xinhua News Agency said earlier that a lake in Beichuan county "may burst its bank at any time," but did not give details on why the water was rising.

In response, soldiers carried older people out of the city of Beichuan, one of the hardest-hit areas, while survivors cradled babies on a road jammed with vehicles and people.Rescue team members take a break on Saturday after searching for earthquake survivors in Beichuan county, in southwest China. (Andy Wong/Associated Press)

Rescue efforts in the region resumed hours later and a local relief worker later suggested the reports of looming floods might have been false. An official Chinese government website also called the reports a "false alarm."

More people found alive

Liang Xiao, who fled his home, said he had heard that more than 10 metres of water could come crashing down. Many people are too scared to return to their homes.

The confirmed death toll rose Saturday to 28,881, government spokesman Guo Weimin said. The number was expected to climb further because thousands of people remain buried in the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Chinese officials have previously said they believe at least 50,000 people died.

Despite the passing days, people are still being found alive.

Xinhua said Sunday that a man was rescued from a collapsed hospital in Beichuan after being trapped under the rubble for 139 hours.

A boy was pulled out of the rubble in Beichuan on Saturday, telling rescuers he had been there for 104 hours.

A 69-year-old villager who had been trapped for 119 hours was also rescued, Reuters said.

Rescue teams from Japan, Russia, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore are helping out in the earthquake zone.People carry their belongings on a tractor as they evacuate Mianyang, one of the cities hit hard by Monday's earthquake. (Kyodo News/Associated Press)

"We have to use first very heavy machines to take off these stones and big logs, and after that we have to use our hands very, very carefully to take off these things," said Takashi Koizumi, the leader of a Japanese relief team.

Compensation offered: report

Nearly five million people have been left homeless by the quake, which devastated China's southwest region.

The Chinese government estimates that 10 million people have been directly affected by the destruction of an estimated four million homes and apartments.

China National Radio said Saturday the government would give the equivalent of $715 in compensation to each family that lost someone in the earthquake.

At a State Council meeting hosted by Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing, the government also decided it would hand out to survivors a daily ration consisting of food and $1.40, the report said.