VOA常速英语:China Rushing Supplies to Quake-Hit Zone

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China is rushing to get emergency supplies to victims of a powerful earthquake that flattened thousands of homes in the southwestern part of the country. Some residents are already giving up dreams of trying to rebuild.

Pigs root through what is left of a home in China's Yunnan province. The owner, a 56-year-old farmer, stares at the destruction from Thursday's magnitude 6.0 earthquake. "I do not think I will be able to rebuild," he says. "I am not strong enough to make enough money."

Chinese officials are calling for relief supplies to be sent to the region as quickly as possible. Already, thousands of people have taken refuge in tents sent to provide shelter.

Outside one tent, a 76-year-old woman says she is too scared to go back home. She says she keeps having dreams about going home and seeing the walls fall in and kill her.

Across the province, groups of soldiers armed with shovels sift through collapsed houses in search of more survivors. More than 1,000 soldiers have been sent to help, including this Chinese army major. He says so many homes have collapsed people are really scared. He says the toughest task is helping residents deal with the shock.

The official Xinhua news agency says the quake destroyed more than 18,000 homes, damaged 75,000 and displaced 250,000 people.

But calls for help are being answered. State media reports many citizens are donating blood. And one charity foundation says it is being flooded with donations.