My first response to the 6.6-magnitude earthquake was to get aboard a military truck heading to the epicenter in Jinggu county in Pu'er on Tuesday night. When I arrived on Wednesday morning, I was surprised to see the extent of the quake's devastation.

After the China Earthquake Administration reported the earthquake in Pu'er at around 9:49 pm on Tuesday, I got a call from the regional military that soldiers would be traveling to the city to provide aid to survivors. I rushed to grab a few coats and a sweater in the event of rain.

The military mobilized out of Kunming, the provincial capital, less than an hour after the quake. I spent a long night in a military truck imagining what should be done if there were a high number of casualties. At around 6 am on Wednesday, we reached the destination of Jinggu county.