China has started erecting temporary housing units after an earthquake destroyed 14,000 homes

BEIJING (AP) — Hundreds of temporary housing units are being set up in northwest China for survivors of an earthquake that destroyed more than 14,000 homes and killed at least 144 people. State broadcaster CCTV showed footage Thursday of cranes lifting white, box-like housing units and lining them up in an open field in a village in Gansu province. The arrival of the prefabricated units was a sign that many of those displaced by the Monday night earthquake may be homeless for some time. Authorities said the death toll has risen by nine as search teams dig through heavy mudslides that inundated two villages in neighboring Qinghai province. Three people remain missing.