More misery as storms strike disaster-hit area
Source: Xinhua/Shanghai Daily |
August 13, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Overnight thunderstorms brought new misery to northwest China's Gansu Province yesterday as the death toll from weekend flooding and massive landslides rose to 1,144. The rains triggered new mudslides, leaving three more missing, and another swollen river threatened to overflow.
More heavy rains are forecast over the next few days - up to 90 millimeters is expected in the already saturated region today - and forecasters said the threat of additional landslides along the Bailong River was "relatively large."
An overnight deluge triggered more mudslides that swept away six houses in Xizangba Village, blocked a river near Libazi Village, and obstructed a key road used to ferry relief goods.
Three people disappeared when six houses were swept away in Xizangba Village, said a spokesman for disaster relief headquarters.
He said one of the mudslides in Libazi Village formed a blockage on the river, raising the water level by 3 meters yesterday morning.
Another mudslide blocked a major road along which relief goods were carried into the town. An estimated 45,000 cubic meters of debris covered the road linking Lianghekou with Zhouqu, the shortest route for bringing goods from the provincial capital city of Lanzhou to Zhouqu.
Workers with heavy machinery had been sent in overnight to repair the road, the spokesman said.
A surge of fresh floodwater in the Bailong River had passed through the barrier lake in Zhouqu without causing havoc, Liu Ning, vice minister of water resources, said.
The provincial weather station said 15 to 30 millimeters of rain fell on Zhouqu from 9pm on Wednesday to 8am yesterday.
Heavier downpours forecast for the next 24 hours were expected to bring 40-60 mm of rain, and in some areas, up to 90mm, it said.
Dozens of rescuers were called out at midnight Wednesday after searching for hours in vain for survivors, said Zhang Guiquan, an army officer, yesterday.
Zhang said they were told cries had been heard from a partially collapsed building near the swollen Bailong River. About 40 soldiers braved heavy rains and potential mudslides to search the site. "We will seize every chance to find survivors, but it is also important to ensure the safety of rescuers," he said.
Luo Binghong, like many other mudslide victims, had a sleepless night at a temporary shelter. "I sat all night listening to the sound of rain," she said.
Medical experts were trying to identify about 50 unclaimed bodies after extracting DNA samples from them, said Li Zongfeng, deputy head of the provincial public security department.
The death toll from the massive mudslides rose to 1,144, with 600 still missing as of last night.
About 570 survivors had received clinical treatment and 64 people were in hospital.
More heavy rains are forecast over the next few days - up to 90 millimeters is expected in the already saturated region today - and forecasters said the threat of additional landslides along the Bailong River was "relatively large."
An overnight deluge triggered more mudslides that swept away six houses in Xizangba Village, blocked a river near Libazi Village, and obstructed a key road used to ferry relief goods.
Three people disappeared when six houses were swept away in Xizangba Village, said a spokesman for disaster relief headquarters.
He said one of the mudslides in Libazi Village formed a blockage on the river, raising the water level by 3 meters yesterday morning.
Another mudslide blocked a major road along which relief goods were carried into the town. An estimated 45,000 cubic meters of debris covered the road linking Lianghekou with Zhouqu, the shortest route for bringing goods from the provincial capital city of Lanzhou to Zhouqu.
Workers with heavy machinery had been sent in overnight to repair the road, the spokesman said.
A surge of fresh floodwater in the Bailong River had passed through the barrier lake in Zhouqu without causing havoc, Liu Ning, vice minister of water resources, said.
The provincial weather station said 15 to 30 millimeters of rain fell on Zhouqu from 9pm on Wednesday to 8am yesterday.
Heavier downpours forecast for the next 24 hours were expected to bring 40-60 mm of rain, and in some areas, up to 90mm, it said.
Dozens of rescuers were called out at midnight Wednesday after searching for hours in vain for survivors, said Zhang Guiquan, an army officer, yesterday.
Zhang said they were told cries had been heard from a partially collapsed building near the swollen Bailong River. About 40 soldiers braved heavy rains and potential mudslides to search the site. "We will seize every chance to find survivors, but it is also important to ensure the safety of rescuers," he said.
Luo Binghong, like many other mudslide victims, had a sleepless night at a temporary shelter. "I sat all night listening to the sound of rain," she said.
Medical experts were trying to identify about 50 unclaimed bodies after extracting DNA samples from them, said Li Zongfeng, deputy head of the provincial public security department.
The death toll from the massive mudslides rose to 1,144, with 600 still missing as of last night.
About 570 survivors had received clinical treatment and 64 people were in hospital.
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