Society

127 dead in rain-triggered landslides in NW China

(Xinhua/chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-08-08 15:26

Witness Accounts, Barrier Lake

A medical worker checks a child rescued from a mudslide in Zhouqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province, August 8, 2010. 28 trapped people had been rescued as of 19:30 on Sunday. [Photo/Xinhua]

Peng Wei, head of the county's fire department said, "I heard the fierce storm around 11:30 pm, later I found that a mud-rock flow had hit our residential building. The cars in the yard had all been damaged," Peng added.

"Someone said the fifth floor of my residential building had been submerged. People are busy looking for family members and friends," said Li Tiankui, a resident who lived near the Bailong River.

"Several small landslides have occurred in the valley before, but they didn't arouse much attention," Li said.

Water spewed out the sides of the Bailong River due to debris blocking it and took a different downstream course than usual, engulfing buildings along the riverbank. A total of 19,000 people living in Shawan and Lianghekou townships situated below the lake had been evacuated, Mao said.

The landslides occurred at around midnight in Zhouqu County and a barrier lake had formed on the Bailong River at around 1 am.

The barrier lake is 3 km long, 100 meters wide and 9 meters deep. It kept some 1.5 million cubic meters of water, according to the provincial flood control department.

Two helicopters carrying demolition experts left for the landslide-hit county at 6:30 am Sunday to blow up materials blocking the river's flow, according to the provincial flood relief headquarters.

The downpours had petered out in the county, but the prefecture's meteorological bureau has forecast heavy rains on the upper reach of Bailong River on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Zhouqu County covers 3,010 square km and has a population of 134,700, about 33 percent of which are Tibetans. It is located in the southeast part of the prefecture, the seat of which is about 276 km away from Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu.

The scene of the mudslide-hit Zhouqu County in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province, August 8, 2010. 28 trapped people had been rescued as of 19:30 on Sunday. [Photo/Xinhua]