Related readings:  Quake-resistant homes to be built Yunnan Province yesterday launched a 10-year project to reinforce houses in rural areas to withstand the force of destructive earthquakes.  Experts closely monitoring situation A strong earthquake that killed three and shook up thousands of others yesterday morning in Yunnan was "no surprise" to seismological officials, who claimed the southwest province experiences 40 percent of the country's perceivable tremors.  Hu orders all-out efforts into earthquake rescue  Strong earthquake in southwest China kills 3  Animals to be used as quake sensors  Strong quake hits East China Sea A local resident clears the debris of his house following a strong earthquake in Ning'er, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 3, 2007.[Xinhua] more photos

By Tuesday morning, around 5,000 tents had been allocated to residents, and officials with the Ning'er County Civil Affairs Bureau said another 15,000 tents are needed.

In outlying Huangliang village, only seven tents are available for 117 villagers, and some residents have had to build makeshift shelters with rain-proof cloth and tarpaulins. The price of tarpaulins has risen by about 30 percent.

The roads and highways leading to Ning'er today were thronged with trucks carrying disaster-relief material.

Wang Weiwei, deputy county chief, said the county has received about 8.2 million yuan (about 1.06 million U.S. dollars) of donations, and tents, quilts, food, water and bags of rice are being trucked in.

"But the damage is very extensive, and we are basically short of everything," said Wang.

In schools, tents are being set up for some 670 students who are about to take the coming national college entrance examination.

The county education bureau has organized training on emergency evacuation for about 80 examiners and stocked up on bottled water, instant noodles and medicine for the students.

"Taking an exam in a tent is a pretty weird experience. Everyone is a bit on edge, but you just have to calm down and do the best you can," said Guo Chunyan, one of the students.

A strong earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter Scale hit the province early on Sunday, killing three but affecting more than a million people. Seismologists have recorded more than 1,400 after-shocks in Ning'er since the quake struck.

According to the latest statistics from the Ning'er disaster relief headquarters, 242,000 houses in rural areas have been damaged, including 140,000 houses seriously damaged and and 34,300 destroyed. In addition, 12,000 houses in the urban area were damaged.