China is in the process of setting up hundreds of temporary one-room housing units in the northwest of the country following a devastating earthquake that destroyed over 14,000 homes and claimed at least 135 lives, as reported by state media. The earthquake triggered mudslides that engulfed two villages, leaving twelve people missing. Search teams are using heavy equipment to clear the thick layer of mud that has covered roads and buildings in the affected areas. State broadcaster CCTV showcased the process of cranes lifting and arranging white, box-like housing units in an open field in Meipo, a village in Gansu province.

About 260 of these units have already been set up, with a planned total of 500 units across nine sites by Friday morning. These temporary shelters will provide critical relief to the more than 87,000 people who have been displaced as a result of the earthquake. The death toll from the disaster has climbed to 135 people, with 113 in Gansu province and 22 in neighbouring Qinghai province. Nearly 1,000 others have been reported injured. The magnitude 6.2 quake struck in a mountainous region and has been the deadliest in the country in nine years.

Experts have pointed out that the earthquake liquefied underground sediment in the area, where the water table is relatively high, resulting in the devastating mudslides. Most of China's earthquakes strike in the western part of the country, including Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces, as well as the Xinjiang region and Tibet. As the affected areas continue to grapple with the aftermath of the disaster, the setting up of temporary housing units is a crucial step in providing shelter to those left homeless by the quake and in beginning the process of recovery and rebuilding.