About 8,370 tents have been shipped to the quake zone in China's northwestern Qinghai Province since it was hit by a major earthquake Wednesday, said an official with the Ministry of Civil Affairs Thursday.

The number of tents arriving in epicenter Yushu prefecture Thursday was expected to reach 10,000 and 28,800 more would be sent, said Zou Ming, director of the disaster relief department with the ministry, at a press conference.

The 7.1-magnitude earthquake has left 617 people dead, 313 people missing and 9,110 injured.

About 100,000 people had been left homeless.

"The tents will be enough for about 100,000 people," he said. "The problem is that transport is tight. We are going to need some more time to ship all of the materials."

In addition, 120,000 cotton coats, 120,000 quilts and 20,000 camp beds have been sent to the quake-hit region, he said.

On Wednesday, most available transport was used to get rescue staff, medical teams and equipment into the affected area, he said.

The situation changed slightly Thursday as most rescue teams had arrived and some damaged roads had been repaired, he said. "More capacity will be spared for shipping relief material," he added.

When asked whether the country would accept foreign rescue teams in the quake region, Zou said limited transport meant that getting foreign rescue teams into the area may not be an effective use of resources.

So far about 10,000 rescuers and medical workers were in the region, which was relatively small, but they were able to handle the situation, he said.

"Tents, winter clothes, quilts and instant foods are most needed in the quake-hit region," he said.

The ministry had asked the armed forces to help, he said. About 100,000 packaged meals had been airlifted from Xi'an, in Shaanxi Province, to Yushu.

The provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shandong would contribute a total of 30 tonnes of instant foods.

"I believe the difficulties in the quake-hit region will be greatly eased when all these relief materials reach there," he said.

He expected the shortage of necessities in the quake-hit region will be solved within two days.

Given the lack of transportation, Zou suggested people donate money or show support in other ways rather than donate relief materials.

"The rehabilitation of the quake-hit region, such as rebuilding homes and other infrastructure, will require funds," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2010)