STORY: After the severe earthquake in the Chinese province of Sichuan, the death toll continues to rise. State media are now reporting at least 74 dead. Dozens of the nearly 250 injured are in critical condition, state television reported. Rescue workers are trying to reach more than 200 people who are cut off from the outside world. Emergency services tried to clear buried streets and restore the supply of electricity and water. Food should also be brought to the disaster region. Heavy rain is expected there in the coming days. Experts warned of the dangers of river courses that were dammed in several places by the quake. The earthquake on Monday afternoon (local time) was 6.8, the strongest in the southwestern province since 2017. According to the Chinese earthquake center, the epicenter was in the city of Luding, around 230 kilometers southwest of the provincial capital Chengdu.