All-out disaster-relief efforts continued on Monday in Ya'an, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, which was severely hit by Saturday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake, to make the most of the 72 hours after the quake, known as the golden time for rescue, which runs out Tuesday morning. 

As of 6 pm Monday, the quake had resulted in 192 deaths and 11,470 injuries with 23 reported missing, according to figures from the Sichuan provincial government emergency command center.

A total of 2,536 aftershocks had been recorded in Lushan county, epicenter of the quake, as of 8 pm on Monday, among which 95 were above 3.0 magnitude and four above 5.0 magnitude, said the earthquake administration of Sichuan.

Four military helicopters have for the first time airdropped relief supplies, including food and water to Taiping township of Lushan and Baoxing county, a hard-hit region previously left isolated due to severe road damage.

Wei Jinglian, a senior engineer with the Beijing Institute of Geology, told the Global Times that airdropping is an efficient relief method and should be applied when normal  transportation is interrupted.

The main road to Baoxing was reopened on Sunday night but traffic jams were still severe due to the landslides caused by aftershocks, making it difficult for rescuers and relief resources to reach the destination.

"The rescue work is progressing in an orderly manner. Although the late arrival of heavy excavators has slowed down the work, the 3,000 rescuers, who are well equipped, are enough to cover the county," Han Bing, Party secretary of Baoxing, told the Global Times.

Gao Jianguo, a researcher at the Institute of Geology under the China Earthquake Administration, praised the government's quake relief efforts, but noted that it should have drawn up a more detailed plan since a bad traffic situation should have been anticipated considering local geological conditions.

President Xi Jinping on Monday said relief work in quake-hit areas is being carried out efficiently and in an orderly way, and Chinese people could overcome the difficulties caused by the disaster.

Gao told the Global Times that besides dispatching more helicopters, vehicles that can climb slopes and resist rocks could also be considered.

Some 28 helicopters have entered quake-hit areas dozens of times to transfer injured people and deliver daily necessities and food.

Han said that as the next step, county officials will be dispatched to different villages on Tuesday to learn about and meet villagers' needs. 

As of Monday night, relief materials including 200 make-shift toilets, 25,000 tents and 137,000 cotton blankets had reached quake-hit areas, said the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Meanwhile, the Global Times reporter learned that psychological counselors have entered Lingguan township in Baoxing.

Shen Ji, head of the Sichuan provincial health department, said that after the rescue, the next step will focus on medical treatment in the disaster areas, especially mental care for locals.

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is frequently seen in people who have been through accidents, disasters or witnessed loss of life, Zhou Chu, an expert on disaster psychology at the Shanghai-based Fudan University, told the Global Times, adding that anti-social behavior or depression could become widespread if no counseling work is done.

Both Gao and Wei said the government had reacted faster than in previous earthquakes and made progress on information disclosure.

Shen said that authorities have set up a system of releasing timely reports on earthquake injuries and damage. Earthquake-related information is being reported once every two hours.

Many people have criticized the excessive number of self-organized volunteers flooding into the disaster area, which has worsened the traffic situation.

Web users on Monday started a campaign on Weibo called "rational relief work," calling on volunteers not to rush to the disaster areas, which may add burdens to professional rescue teams.

Xinhua contributed to this story