Temporary settlement provides warmth in the cold for hard-hit Kexinmin village

The bonfire set ablaze at a temporary settlement in Jishishan county has provided much-needed warmth and hope for villagers dislocated by the earthquake that jolted a mountainous region in Northwest China's Gansu province near midnight of Monday.

"I was about to tuck in when a sudden tremor struck and our house collapsed within 10 seconds," said Ma Nuer, a villager in Kexinmin, near the epicenter of the quake. "My husband and I scrambled to jump out of the window to escape, so did our two sons."

"We spent the night shivering in below freezing temperatures in front our damaged home until the rescue team came, put up tents and distributed instant noodles and baked buns to us," said the 32-year-old.

"There is still much to worry about — like how to rebuild our houses and what happened to our possessions. But at least tonight, my family and I have the fire to warm us up and a shelter," she said.

Ma is among hundreds of residents in Kexinmin village — with a population of about 1,400— that had been resettled to three temporary accommodations by Tuesday evening.

The village is one of the most hard-hit during the quake that struck at 11:59 pm on Monday and killed more than 120 people and injured hundreds more in Gansu province and the neighboring province of Qinghai.

"The whole village looked flattened to us. My grandfather-in-law in his late 90s said that he had never experienced or even heard of such a tremor in his life," she said. Her grandfather is the only one who was injured during the quake and had been transferred overnight to a hospital at the county seat.

The Gansu Branch of Red Cross Society of China has rushed to set up 42 tents at two open grounds to shelter the displaced from temperatures that can plunge to below 16 degrees Celsius during the night. Another temporary settlement at the village is managed by emergency management authorities.

Wang Xihong, a member of an emergency rescue team administered by Gansu's Red Cross, said that he arrived in the village around 3 am on Tuesday and has been working nonstop to search for trapped residents, remove debris on roads and set up shelters.

"The most urgent demand at present is keeping affected residents warm amid these freezing temperatures," he said.

Wang said that local residents first started a small fire by themselves, and rescue personnel helped them build a larger bonfire where more people could gather around and warm themselves up.

"However, we still need more cotton quilts and jackets to weather the piercing chill at night," he said.

Wang said that the tents are designed to last at least three months. "More equipment and materials are being transported here to build outdoor toilets and infrastructure to ensure clean water."

Ma Lina, mother of a one-year-old baby, said she considers herself lucky as her house basically held up despite the strong shake, making it possible for her to retrieve some diapers and milk powder for her son before running outside.

But her house, like nearly all buildings in the village, is severely damaged and not safe to live in.

Her husband wrapped their baby under layers of blankets and jackets and held him tightly to his chest.

"The baby knew nothing and appeared to be calmer than us adults as long as we hugged him," she said. "But we were a little concerned because he had not fully recovered from a cold and his condition might get worse under this weather."

In the early hours on Wednesday, a truck loaded with 1,440 quilts and 150 folding beds arrived in the village.

"I would probably be able to snooze a bit by noon of Wednesday," said Wang, the rescue personnel. "But taking a break is not on our mind right on, we just want to help as many villagers as possible."