In Myanmar, families whose houses were destroyed by the powerful earthquake last week have begun to rebuild their shattered lives.

Government officials and volunteers are working feverishly to provide relief materials and to help residents return to daily life.

Residents of Tachilek left homeless by the 6.8 magnitude quake on March 24th started repairing their homes with whatever materials they could find to make the properties habitable again.

Rebuilding efforts were hampered by rainfall on Saturday, which is unusual in northern Myanmar for this time of the year.

Government workers have been working around the clock to get the road network back in use for traffic in the remote areas in Shan State in the northeast of Myanmar.

The newly built National Highway No. 4, which links the regions primary city Kyaingtong to Tachilet, along the border of Thailand, has been badly damaged by the quake.

The latest official number of casualties stands at 74 deaths and 125 injuries. And the number of damaged buildings has increased to 305, including a number of government structures.

On Sunday, officials slowly began delivering food supplies and plastic sheets for those whose homes were destroyed.

Chinese volunteers are also in the area. They donated their own money to provide relief materials including drinking water, food and tents, all transported to the affected areas by truck, as shops have all been closed.

Mr. Wang, Chiese Shop Owner, said, "The shop has been closed since the early morning of March 25th 2011 until now. No one knows when it will be opened again."

The initial quake shook the famous Golden Triangle region where Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet, and was felt as far away as Hanoi.

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