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WENCHUAN : At least 5,500 children have been orphaned or separated from their parents as a result on the Sichuan earthquake on May 12.
Some 5,000 elderly people have also been left on their own with no children to support them.
The figures were provided by the government's disaster relief headquarters.
One of the worst hit areas was Yingxiu town - part of the epicentre of the deadly earthquake in Wenchuan.
Less than half of the town's population survived the quake.
Yingxiu town sits northeast of Chengdu and a road trip before the earthquake would take three hours. Now, it takes 15 hours.
The town used to have a population of 18,000 people. Less than half survived and over 4,000 are still missing.
And that includes four students who are still buried under rubble that used to be a dormitory.
Shifting through the rumble, rescuers find a student-pass - unsure if the child in the picture is dead or alive.
A physician said it took them four days to enter the town after the quake struck.
Cao Xiangliang, Physician-in-charge, Lin Yi Traditional Chinese Medicine Burn Specialist Centre, said, "We arrived on the evening of May 16). It was only when the road was cleared that we managed to arrive here. I just couldn't stand the sight of the devastation. I just concentrated on saving the injured. I just kept treating the injured for two days non-stop."
He said when he entered the village, survivors were already showing signs of skin diseases.
He said, "The villagers had big sores and wounds. They look like blisters with liquid. And I quickly told the authorities when I discovered this disease."
When asked how many people have been afflicted by this disease, Dr Cao replied, "Right now, I can't tell you this. But this disease is not contagious."
Currently all the injured are in neighbouring Dujiangyan and Chengdu hospitals, while the rest of the villagers are staying at shelters nearby.
Soldiers told Channel NewsAsia they experience as many as 24 aftershocks daily.
Reconstruction work in the area will take longer.
Mass graves are scattered in Yingxiu to bury the thousands who have died, and biohazard workers in white continue to disinfect the area.
On a visit to Yingxiu town, Premier Wen Jiabao said that they now face three challenges in reconstruction efforts.
He elaborated, "The first is trying to solve the problem of sheltering the displaced. We lack tents. The second is we are trying to secure and reconstruct pre-fabricated shelter for the villagers and (find a) long-term solution for their housing. Our third challenge is resettling the affected. This is a very difficult task. As you know, the situation in Beichuan...where the town will now be rebuilt as a memorial town."
In the meantime, soldiers are still continuing to look for the more than 4,000 missing people.
Even if it is dead bodies they find, at least it will be a closure for their family members, who have kept vigil all this time. - CNA/ms
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