The first medical team and supplies of tents, food and water have arrived in Sichuan, and a second team with more aid will arrive today, he said.

Liu said as a firefighter, he has participated in numerous rescue efforts, the most recent being the snowstorms at the start of the year.

"More than 350 of my colleagues in Jiangxi province are ready to go to the disaster-hit areas," Liu said.

"As a firefighter, I am ready to go at any time."

American Paul Provost, 67, who has been teaching English at Jiangxi Normal University since 1999, said he was deeply impressed with the rescue efforts he had seen on TV.

"When you have something like that, you always look for the good side.

"It's a calamity, but it gives others an opportunity to help, to show their goodness, because we get caught up searching for other things, material things unfortunately.

"This gives us a chance to use our material wealth to help people in need," Provost said.

Gregory Brubaker from San Francisco, who teaches at the same university, said he remembered clearly the San Francisco earthquake of 1989 - three days without electricity, many people lost their homes, many died.

"But I would say San Francisco became a much better, more caring city after the quake," he said.