The risk of fresh downpours threatened more misery on Wednesday for a Chinese town devastated by a landslide and further threatened by an unstable lake behind a barrier of mud. Authorities warned other regions to also brace for heavy rain.
-- Death toll at 1,117; scant hope for survivors
There is scant hope of finding more survivors in the ruins of the valley town of Zhouqu in north-west Gansu province, where at least 1,117 people died when an avalanche roared down the slopes at the weekend after torrential rain. Another 627 are missing. The stench of death was thick after days of fierce sun and a steady flow of bodies was carried off to makeshift morgues - little more than roped-off stretches of dirt covered with lime.
Authorities have warned that heavy rain expected in Zhouqu and other areas over coming days could bring the risk of more floods and land slips, including in adjacent Sichuan province. Some 45,000 people have been evacuated from Zhouqu and officials warned others to leave or stay away.
"We are expecting very heavy rain for later today, please don't spend too long in town," said a policeman at a checkpoint on the outskirts of the town, who declined to give his name. Jiao Yong, a Vice Minister of Water Resources, discounted the threat of new flooods from accumulated water in the lake formed after the landslides hit Zhouqu and choked the Bailong River.
More than 10,000 police, troops and fire-fighters have been sent to the town to aid with the rescue efforts, Premier Wen Jiabao has visited Zhouqu, and other top leaders have also chipped in. But some people are angry at the government over policies they felt left the town vulnerable to landslides. Officials have warned for years that heavy tree-felling and rapid hydro development were making the mountain area around Zhouqu vulnerable to land slips, government reports show.
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