She said she was buried under a pile of mud bricks after part of her house caved in during the quake, and was pulled out by her 10-year-old granddaughter, who was sleeping in the next bed.

Ms Xiong takes shelter in a nearby tent with her grandchild at night, but has to go back to the house during the day to cook meals for her family of four and look after two dogs and livestock left behind.

Flanked by several desperate locals, the journey through the ruined village is heart-wrenching, with accounts of one family's plight leading to even more horrific recollections of devastation from others.

Pu Shansan, 15, and her 13-year-old sister Pu Shasha, have been living with their aunt since their mother was crushed by her home's collapsed roof. She had to be admitted to hospital with what seems to be permanent paralysis from the waist down. Their house is a pile of rubble and their livestock, including three pigs, are left unattended.

In neighbouring Taida village, the devastation is no less shocking.

Feng Guangfa, 44, works on his three-bedroom house, trying frantically to use logs to support the falling frame. Mr Feng, a father of two, said the house may not be safe to live in anymore, but he does not want to see it crumble, because he does not have the money to rebuild.

Mr Feng works on a construction site in downtown Ninger and brings home 500 yuan a month. He said his house was built eight years ago at a cost of 10,000 yuan.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said the quake affected more than 1 million people in Ninger county and neighbouring areas.

At least 180,000 people were displaced and financial losses are estimated to have exceeded 2.5 billion yuan.

Ninger county residents said the region was hit by major quakes in 1979 and 1993 but they have not received any advice or resources on how to make buildings more quake-resistant.

Adobe bricks, made from a mixture of clay and straw, are still the staple building material in the poverty-stricken area and houses built from them are particularly prone to natural disasters such as storms, let alone the more destructive force of earthquakes.

'But that's all we can afford,' Mr Feng said.

Fellow Taida villager Kong Chun, said kiln-fired bricks were better but too expensive, with the total cost of a brick house at 20,000 to 30,000 yuan - 'out of the reach of most families'.

Some houses in rural Ninger are up to 30 years old and extremely susceptible to natural disasters. Ms Xiong from Kune village said she has long worried about the condition of her house, which is more than 20 years old, but cannot afford major maintenance.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said it has delivered more than 15,000 tents to quake-stricken areas and the ministry has pledged 27 million yuan in direct assistance.

Last week locals started receiving meals and basic food supplies such as rice and cooking oil.

The provincial government also unveiled a 10-year plan committing 5 billion yuan towards upgrades to residential buildings in the region.

However, most villagers forced to cook in the open since the quake struck will continue doing so for the time being.

Their problems are set to be compounded by the upcoming rainy season and a lack of basic hygiene safeguards.

Residents said it normally took two months and at least 10,000 yuan to build a new house, but most of them said they would have difficulty coming up with that kind of money.

In Kune and Taida villages, many residents have begun trying to repair their homes, but when asked whether his home will be safe to live in, Mr Kong paused for a while.

'We can't live in the tent forever and neither can we afford to build a new house,' he said.

Shattered lives

The number of people affected by the June 3 earthquake 1m

Estimated losses (in yuan) have exceeded 2.5b