People from rural areas of Sichuan who were made homeless by the May 12 earthquake will be able to move into their new homes before December of next year, Vice Governor Huang Yanrong said Tuesday at a press conference at the Beijing International Media Center.

Residents of urban areas who lost their homes will be rehoused before the end of 2010, he said.

More than 68,000 people lost their lives in the Sichuan earthquake, while 360,000 were injured and 18,000 are still missing, according to figures from the central government.

The quake also left 10 million people homeless, but since May 12, almost 4.5 million families have been housed in temporary accommodation, Huang said.

The province's industrial and commercial sectors are also getting back on their feet, he said.

As of Aug 12, more than 93 percent of Sichuan's factories and 92 percent of its shops had reopened for business, he said.

Many of the province's most popular tourist sites, including Jiuzhaigou Valley, have also reopened, Huang said.

When news broke of the devastating events of May 12, the thoughts of many people around the world turned to the children orphaned by the disaster.

However, Wang Suying from the social welfare and social affairs department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs told China Daily yesterday that there are less than 100 orphans in need of adoption.

This number could yet increase, however, if any parents who are currently classed as missing are later confirmed dead, she said.

Despite the ministry receiving "about 100,000" applications from families to adopt quake orphans, most of the children are now living with their extended families, Wang said.

With regard to those children who are still in need of a home, priority will be given to applicants who lost their own children in the quake or who hail from the same areas as the orphans, she said.

The ministry will also ensure all orphans are adopted by families from their own ethnic minority group, she said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2008)