China earthquake aftermath

The areas hardest-hit by China's worst earthquake are not left in peace.

Heavy rainfall and wrecked roads hampered rescuers' efforts to reach to the victims.

Huddled inside buses and under makeshift tents, survivors sought shelter from the rain and cold.

Troops and ambulances thronged the streets, and military trucks able to do heavy lifting had arrived.

But many residents simply stood beside their wrecked homes, cradling possessions in their arms.

Aid agencies warned that the most urgent risk they faced was exposure.

Nearly 10,000 people were killed by the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that hammered China's southwestern province of Sichuan.

The epicentre was in Wenchuan, a hilly county about 100 km (62 miles) from the provincial capital, Chengdu.

State media reports indicated that the number of dead was likely to soar.

Premier Wen Jiabao who rushed to Sichuan, ordered troops to clear roads.

But the continuous rainfall and the drop in temperature are not making it easy for the survivors to hold on and military helicopters to land.

In Dujiangyan, about 900 teenagers were buried under a collapsed school building.

In Beijing, Kitty Bu, reporting for Reuters.

wrecked - destroyed in an accident; "a wrecked ship"; "a highway full of wrecked cars"
hamper - a restraint that confines or restricts freedom (especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner)
huddled - crowded
sought - Past tense and past participle of seek.
thronged - filled with great numbers crowded together; "I try to avoid the thronged streets and stores just before Christmas"
stood - Past tense and past participle of stand.
hilly adjective mountainous
drop - fall