Older people are leading and respected members of their communities but they were also among the most exposed of groups when the earthquake struck on October 8. Many villages were cut-off from the outside world, accessible only by helicopter. It is only now that some of these remoter areas are being reached and that survivors can be cared for.

An ICRC medical officer is treating this elderly man (photo 1) from the mountain village of Bela Sethu for an injury that has become infected. Many people from this area were in need of basic attention.

With so many hospitals in the region destroyed, many survivors with more serious injuries had to be evacuated by helicopter to hospitals in Muzaffarabad. These women (photos 2 and 3) had extensive hand and shoulder injuries and were admitted to the female ward at the ICRC's referral hospital set up at the city's cricket ground.

Muzaffarabad itself (photo 4) was severely affected, with around two thirds of its buildings devastated. Tens of thousands died.

Away from the city, entire villages (photo 5) were flattened, roofs torn off, homes destroyed. There is little movement or sign of life. Will these remote communities be rebuilt or will the survivors be absorbed into more accessible villages in the valleys?

An old man (photo 6) sits near his collapsed house in the village of Lamnian while his neighbours, an elderly couple (photo 7) perch by the road in front of their home, also destroyed. Some people in the village have tents, others not. The distribution of food and other supplies is continuing.

Most of the villagers who survived were injured. Many were taken to Muzaffarabad such as this boy (photo 8) caring for his mother in the helicopter. What does the future hold for them? Where will they live when they return to their village?

Many survivors spend their days recovering in field hospitals, like these women (photos 9,10,11) with severe injuries.

Those who escaped unharmed like these two men (photo 12) in the village of Rajkot sit on straw and watch ICRC distribution efforts.

Earthquake victims (photo 13) have tried to salvage materials from their homes to build their own temporary shelters as winter approaches. Others, like these sisters (photo 14) only now grasp the extent of the damage as they look out of the window of the helicopter.

Rebuilding these communities will require an enormous amount of time and money. In some places, the earthquake triggered massive landslides that buried whole villages, swept away roads and blocked access. Without heavy equipment, few repairs can be made and in some places the dead have yet to be removed from collapsed schools and other buildings.

A suspension bridge (photo 15 and 16) that links the main highway to the town of Patikka near the earthquake's epicentre is completely twisted, one of its towers broken. Villagers have made a perilous makeshift walkway – several people have fallen to their deaths here - but it is the only way to bring in food and other supplies.

The elderly survivors carry on as best they can, their roles transformed by the disaster. They wait for medical treatment or try to imagine how they will survive the winter months in the mountains (photo 17) or the valleys (photo 18).

Some hold the future in their hands – this man comforts a child (photo 19) whose parents died in the village of Chham near the Line of Control.

The healing will take generations.