Relocation efforts in Baoxing county

A home coming of sorts. It's been 12 days since the 7.0 quake took two of Mao Changying's relatives' lives and left her mother severely injured. Mao Changying has not been back since the earthquake occurred. She is trying to recover whatever precious memories she can from this virtually destroyed wooden house.

"We were born and raised here. If we relocate to another area, there will still be a lot of work left. Pigs need to be fed. I really feel a little bit reluctant," Mao Changying said.

Tears and fears combined. Words are meaningless at this moment for Mao Changying. Tons of boulders that fell from the mountains during last year's landslides combined with the debris from this year's earthquake, create a place not suited to living. This place which people have called home for hundreds of years has suffered enough trauma from numerous geological disasters. Experts say relocation was inevitable.

"Now we have entered the flood season," engineer Wang Yu warned, "we recommend that the local residents in the danger zone avoid living here during flood season."

Experts say Baoxing county is surrounded by mountains. Most parts of the counties either located in the lower mountains or vallies like where Leng Mu Gou is located. The geological terrain has also caused a problem as to where and how to resettle these residents.

For these villagers, this is not an easy decision to make. We followed Mao Changying's family to their temporary shelter. She says she hopes they'll be able to improve the temporary shelters.

"This area is relatively safe to stay," Mao said, "but the environment is not very good around it. The ground is covered with mud. The quilt is still a little wet as it's been raining every day."

Local authorities say there is much to do to improve the temporary settlements. Just across the mountain are the original homes of these people. They are away from the danger, but nothing is the same anymore.