MIANYANG, Sichuan: Chen Yan has been restless since he learned a 7.3-magnitude earthquake wreaked havoc in Haiti.

"How to get to the country is all he can talk about," said his wife Peng Lu.

Chen, deputy chief of the Sichuan provincial emergency volunteer team, received a text message from the Beijing-based China Earthquake Network Center in the wee hours of Jan 13 Beijing time.