LUDIAN, Yunnan, Aug. 4 -- Injured men and women were groaning, drenched in rain and sardined in tents on a clearing near a village school following a deadly quake in southwest China.

One of the most seriously wounded victims in Sunday's 6.5-Magnitude earthquake, a man in his 20s, lay motionless amid the commotion of the stuffy, crowded tent.

A doctor said at midnight the man had suffered cerebral hemorrhage and needed surgery.

"It's not possible to operate on him here. But all the roads are blocked and God knows when he can be sent to a larger hospital," said Chen Chaoxiu, vice president of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Ludian County in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Of the 381 people who were confirmed dead in the quake as of 8:40 a.m. Monday, 302 were from Ludian County.

Downpours persisted throughout Sunday night and more injured villagers were rushed in.

Chen and his 60 colleagues have taken in more than 200 injured residents at their temporary tent clinic near Huijiezi Primary School of Longquan Village. The hospital's pharmacy is almost exhausted.

Zhang Kaiyin, 42, suffered brain injuries and was unable to talk.

"He was collecting pepper on the mountain when the quake struck. The mountain shook and cracks on the ground almost swallowed him," said his elder brother, Zhang Kaiyou. "He ran home, only to find the house had been reduced to rubble."

Their 70-year-old mother was believed to be buried in the debris. "I called her several times, but there was no response."

The quake also toppled a police station and a clinic at the epicenter in Longtoushan Township, burying 10 people, including three policemen and seven patients and medical workers, a police officer with Ludian County's public security bureau told Xinhua.

Continuous downpours and road blocks made the first night after the devastating quake extremely tough.

In a large open space at the heart of Longtoushan Township, crowds of people huddled together in heavy rain, as the few tents available could hardly accommodate the elderly, children and injured.

The tents were brought in at around midnight, along with a generator and some food, said Mao Lihui, a volunteer from Zhaotong City.

RACING AGAINST TIME

The People's Hospital, the largest hospital in Ludian County, was fully packed Sunday night. Beds and stretchers were lined up on corridors on every single floor.

Chen Lihong, a woman from Longtoushan Township, cried in pain as nurses helped her turn over to avoid bedsores. Her mother-in-law Liu Lumei said her backbone was broken when the quake toppled her neighbor's house. "She had dropped in for a chat there," said Liu.

Liu said she, too, was "scared to death." "Most homes in the village were flattened," she said.

Xiao Xinghai, a villager from Huodehong Township, survived with injuries to both legs. "I was herding sheep on the mountain and I held tight to a tree to avoid falling off the cliff."

Armed police officers from the provincial capital Kunming began clearing the blocked roads shortly after midnight, hoping to reach the worst-hit Longtoushan and Huodehong townships soon.

The quake-hit residents are in dire need of supplies, and hospitals have reported shortages of blood and medicine.

The provincial civil affairs bureau said abundant supplies are waiting to be trucked in, but before the blocked roads are cleared, relief supplies can only be carried in by workers.

The two-lane road to Longtoushan Township, more than 20 km from Ludian's county seat, was largely cleared of landslide debris by midnight, but was seriously congested with relief vehicles.

Traffic police have imposed restrictions, allowing only ambulances in and out of town. "Relief trucks have to wait until after the injured have been transferred," said an officer on duty about 10 km from Longtoushan Township.

Cai Wennan, a Red Cross relief officer, hiked three hours to Longtoushan Township. "We saw cracks on the ground and homeless residents gathering in open areas. Some street lamps, fueled by solar energy, still gave off light."

Cai and his colleagues said they were in town to provide professional guidance to the rescuers.

A total of 7,000 rescuers, including 5,000 soldiers, police officers, and firefighters, are at work in the quake-hit areas, trying to repair roads and evacuate the injured and homeless to safer places.

Many volunteers have also joined the relief team by providing medical assistance or simply bringing food, water and supplies.

Li Zhiming, 18, set off from Ludian County seat with his schoolmates Sunday afternoon, hitchhiking or walking to the quake-hit towns to lend a helping hand.

"We cannot just stay home and watch TV. We have to do something, anything," said Li, who is about to enter college in September.