TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Landslide-Blocked River Threatens Flood In China

ADVERTISEMENT

Los Angeles Times

Published: May 27, 2008

MIANYANG, China - The Chinese government warned Monday that as many as 1.2 million residents might have to flee because they could be inundated by a swelling "barrier lake" formed when a river was blocked by landslides from the May 12 earthquake.
Geologists worry that aftershocks or heavy rain could burst the barriers.

The notice was issued hours after a Russian helicopter transported heavy machines over mountains in the northern part of Sichuan province, and hundreds of Chinese soldiers carried in 10 tons of dynamite to contend with the barrier lake at Tangjiashan, about two miles upstream from the town of Beichuan.

The afternoon announcement, broadcast on local television, made for another jittery day in Mianyang, a municipality of 5 million people that includes some of the hardest-hit areas of the earthquake, including Beichuan. Hopes of normality returning to the region had been set back by Sunday's magnitude-6 aftershock, centered north of here, which killed eight people and destroyed 270,000 houses.

The flood warning issued Monday said that in the worst-case scenario, in which the entire barrier collapsed, about 1.2 million people would be ordered to move to higher ground, including some in central Mianyang. Tens of thousands of people have fled.China's central government continued to stress the importance of resettling victims, restoring production and rebuilding devastated areas. About 5 million people were left homeless by the quake, which has claimed more than 65,000 lives, with 23,150 people still missing.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT