Colombo, Jan. 2 (Reuters): So many Sri Lankan children have been orphaned by the tsunami that the government appealed today for doctors, psychologists and paediatricians to help give counselling.

Rescue officials say a disproportionate number of women and children were killed in some areas, apparently because they could not run away from last week?s killer waves as fast as men.

?There is a large number of children orphaned,? said Tara de Mel, director of the Centre for National Operations set up by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, without speculating on a figure. ?We are identifying where these children are.?

A large number of orphans are from the eastern districts of Ampara and Trincomalee, among the hardest hit.

More than 130 children were killed at one orphanage alone.

The Indian Ocean island?s worst natural disaster ravaged the southern, eastern and northern shores of Sri Lanka last Sunday, killing nearly 30,000 people.

?We are very, very worried about it,? De Mel said.?There will be ... psycho-social counselling for these children,? she added, appealing for help from professionals.

The tsunami hit during a holiday, but while schools were empty, hundreds of children who lived along the coast perished.

The school term is due to start as scheduled on Jan.10, but classes will be disrupted in some areas where schools have been damaged or transformed into makeshift refugee camps.

Around 170 schools have been completely or partially destroyed, and about 180 schools have been converted into camps for the displaced, government statistics show. ((Reporting by Chamintha Thilakarathna, chamintha.thilakarathna