"Quake Lake" Dams Risk Lives

[Giuseppe]

ADVISORY-China quake lake story withdrawn
17 May 2008 08:45:00 GMT
Source: Reuters

The China story headlined "Thousands flee to hills as China lake banks burst" is wrong and is withdrawn.

While people in the immediate vicinity of the lake have been told to evacuate, the banks still appear to be holding.
A corrected story follows:

BEIJING, May 17 (Reuters) -

Thousands fled amid fears a lake would burst its banks in Beichuan, near the epicentre of China's earthquake in which a total 50,000 people may have died, a Reuters photographer said.

It was not immediately clear if anyone was hurt.

People were told to flee to the hillsides in a public announcement.

(Reporting by Jason Li; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by David Fox)
-

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PEK319524.htm

------

[gsgs]

Re: Thousands flee overflowing lake in quake province

> 1,250,000 people are being evacuated in Qingchuan

is it true or withdrawn ?
and why "thousands" in the headline ?


let's change the headlines, they are often misleading
give your own (more informative) headline to the story



------------------

I can't find Qingchuan 90km NE of Beichuan.

Is it Guangyuan and 90miles ?

river Jiailing Jiang

[Snowy Owl]

Re: Thousands flee overflowing lake in quake province

<table class="lan18" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="97&#37;"><tbody><tr><td class="hei22" height="25" valign="bottom"> Thousands evacuating as lakes threaten to burst after earthquake
</td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" height="4">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="50%"> <tbody><tr> <td height="8">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="97%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="48%">www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-17 17:03:19 </td> <td class="hui12" align="center" width="26%"> </td> <td class="hui12" align="center" width="12%"> Print</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="80%"> <tbody><tr> <td height="20">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China　

QINGCHUAN, Sichuan, May 17 (Xinhua)

More than 2,000 people are being evacuated from around a lake that is threatening to burst in southwest China's earthquake zone, geological experts and soldiers said on Saturday.

Multiple landslides set off by the powerful earthquake blocked parts of the Qingzhu River in the Hongguang Township in the Qingchuan City, and formed a large stretch of water, which experts with the Sichuan land resources department said exceeded 10 million cubic meters.

More debris slides caused by aftershocks were likely to continue to push the water level up, experts said.

"If the water level rises by another two to three meters, it will overflow and threaten more than 2,000 people who are staying in shelters after the earthquake downstream," one of the experts said.

Water had already overflowed into the streets of a neighboring village in the Qianjin Township, he said.
Experts said the lake embankments were very loose after being shaken by the earthquake, which also heightened the risk of a burst.

"It the lake bursts, it will form at least a 40-kilometer waterway, and the result will be grave," he warned.

Earthquake disaster relief officials in Qingchuan have started to evacuate the people in downstream areas and consider to blast the embankment to divert the lake water.

In the Beichuan County, soldiers said 46 seriously injured people needed to be evacuated immediately from areas around a lake that is rising rapidly and the lake may burst at any time.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/17/content_8193698.htm

[gsgs]

Re: Thousands flee overflowing lake in quake province

I can't find the Chinese names on my map, supposedly there are different
spellings.

So, the evacuation of 1.25M was not true ?

Are you comfortable with the headlines ? Since quite some time
now I have seen many which were misleading.
The headlines are usually added later by other people so to increase
the effect to the readers, to make them buy the newspapers.
They are "sensationalized".

In internet we could replace them with our own ,more informative,
headlines. Also summaries or excerts are better than whole articles.
Who want to read the whole article can still follow the link

[mixin]

Re: Thousands flee overflowing lake in quake province

I haven't found that lake yet but this might be helpful.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2008ryan.php#maps

There are a number of different types of maps.
The Google map will take you to the site of the quake of your choice

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=30.9888+103.3294(M7.9+-+EASTERN+SICHUAN%2C+CHINA+-+2008+May+12++06%3A28%3A01+UTC)&ll=30.9888,103.3294&spn=2,2&f=d&t=h&hl=e

[Giuseppe]

Re: Thousands flee overflowing lake in quake province

I haven't found that lake yet but this might be helpful.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2008ryan.php#maps

There are a number of different types of maps.
The Google map will take you to the site of the quake of your choice

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=30.988...2&f=d&t=h&hl=e

The ''lake'' seems to be a transient one, created by an amount of rocks that closes a river after the earthquake.

[Shiloh]

Re: Thousands flee overflowing lake in quake province

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7406109.stm

Page last updated at 13:28 GMT, Saturday, 17 May 2008 14:28 UK

China quake victims flee 'flood'
here has been panic in the quake-hit Chinese city of Beichuan after reports the entire city could be flooded by a river bursting its banks.

The BBC's Paul Danahar in Beichuan says there was a stampede as thousands of people fled to higher ground.

The whole city was evacuated, forcing the suspension of all rescue efforts, our correspondent says.

Beichuan is close to the epicentre of Monday's devastating quake, in which it is feared about 50,000 people died.

On Saturday the number of confirmed deaths rose to 28,881. The Chinese authorities say that about five million people have been made homeless by the disaster.

Our correspondent in Beichuan says the city went from a scene of rescue and relief into mayhem.

"Everybody just ran - rescuers, army relief teams, medical workers and locals - and people who were in the process of being rescued had to be left behind.

"We were in the process of filming a man about to be pulled out after hours of digging and the rescue team had to abandon him and run."

The Xinhua news agency warned that a lake, formed by landslides blocking a river, "may burst its bank at any time".

However, the authorities later said the city was not under threat from the water.

Our correspondent returned to the heart of the city as the rescue effort resumed, but he says the majority of people are remaining on the surrounding hillsides.

"It is not surprising," he says. "This entire community has been shaken to its core, they are surrounded by unstable buildings which threaten to topple at any moment, and the people have been deeply traumatised by what has happened."

The Chinese government has organised a massive search and rescue effort, which has garnered some success.

On Saturday, several people were dug out of the rubble, including a 52-year-old man who was pulled free after 117 hours buried in debris.

Xinhua also reported that a German tourist was pulled from the rubble - though it later revised its story, saying the mountain climber had not been buried, just cut off by a landslide, and that he made his own way to safety.

Mass graves

Rescue teams from South Korea, Singapore and Russia have joined Japanese and Taiwanese experts taking part in the massive search.

The specialist teams are equipped with sniffer dogs, and fibre-optic cameras and heat sensors to detect people buried under the rubble.

But the number of people being pulled out alive are few and increasingly it is dead bodies which are being retrieved.

Detailed map of quake zone:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7400614.stm

Video coverage by the correspondent in the city threatened by the lake:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7406132.stm

[gsgs]

Re: Thousands flee overflowing lake in quake province

50000 sounds too low with the data from:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7400614.stm

77&#37; dead in nearby Yingxiu

no deaths from Dujiangyan are yet included.
They have 600000 population not 60000



----------------------------
Qingchuan: http://www.tageo.com/index-e-ch-v-32-d-m2670273.htm
Qingchuan, which has a population of 250000

http://www.qczsj.gov.cn/showdetail.asp?id=431

Qingchuan Country is located from 104&#176;36'E to 105&#176;38'E, from 32&#176;12'N to 32&#176;56'NQingchuan has a population of 25,000, of which 34,100 are nonagricultural population, accounting for 14.33 percent

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Thousands flee overflowing lake in quake province

Thousands flee China quake area over flood fears

By TINI TRAN ?

DONGHEKOU, China (AP) ? Two rivers blocked by landslides threatened to flood towns shattered by China's massive earthquake, sending thousands of survivors fleeing Saturday in a region still staggering from the country's worst disaster in 30 years.

A mountain sheared off by the mighty tremor cut the Qingzhu river and swallowed the riverside village of Donghekou whole, entombing an unknown number of people inside a huge mound of brown earth.

Compounding the horror for survivors, a lake rising behind the wall of debris threatens to break its banks and send torrents cascading into villages downstream.

Pannicky residents streamed out of the entire county on the northern edge of the quake zone, spurred on by mobile phone text messages sent en masse by local government officials warning that the water level was rising and people downstream were being evacuated.

In the town of Beichuan, 60 miles to the south, thousands fled as the reports circulated.

Also on Sunday, a "slightly bruised" man was pulled out alive from a collapsed hospital in Beichuan after being trapped for 139 hours after the quake, a state news agency reported.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Tang Xiong was pulled to safety from the collapsed hospital in Beichuan in the northern part of Sichuan province.

It said Tang "was only slightly bruised and in his right senses" when he was found.

Xinhua also said a second man was rescued from a different building in Beichuan about eight hours before Tang. It said the survivor, Wu Jianping, had been taken to hospital. His condition was not known.

Rescue work had been resumed later in the day and experts were monitoring the river above Beichuan, the People's Daily newspaper said on its web site. The swift exodus underscored the jitters running through the disaster zone. A strong aftershock ? the second in two days and measured by the U.S. Geological Survey at magnitude 5.7 ? shook the area early Sunday for 45 seconds, causing people to run into the streets.

In all the devastation wrought by the quake, little looks as bleak as Donghekou.

The road to the village ends in a tangled twist of metal and tar. In the small valley below, the village itself has disappeared when the mountain collapsed. Locals said two other villages further upstream, Ciban and Kangle, had suffered the same fate. The three villages were home to about 300 families, locals said.

Eerie and still, the remaining landscape has few signs of human life ? a soiled green floral scarf, a rubber pipe, a log.

"Oh God! I have lost everything," said Wen Xiaoying, 32, whose voice shook as she surveyed the valley below for the first time since returning from far-off Guangdong province where she worked.

She held up one hand as she ticked off the family members that died ? her father, her mother, her sister and her brother-in-law ? all of them buried somewhere in the muck before her.

"When I saw them the last time, we celebrated together," said Wen, a glimmer of a smile showing through as she remembered happier days. "I didn't expect it would be the last time I saw them."

Su Ciyao trudged over the bend in plastic slippers, carrying a plastic rice bag stuffed with salvaged clothes.

"My village is over there," the 44-year-old said, gesturing to the swollen earth behind him. Asked where his family was, he could only shake his head.

"Only me," he said, and then set off without a backward glance.

Drizzling rain in the valley added to the gloom, and to the fear of carloads of people who clogged the twisting mountain roads as they streamed out of the region.

The government's daily update added another few thousand bodies to the death toll as it continued climbing toward an expected final tally of at least 50,000. Cabinet spokesman Guo Weimin said 28,881 deaths have been confirmed so far.

The official Xinhua News Agency, citing regional officials, said more than 10,600 people were known to be still buried almost one week after the 7.9 magnitude quake hit, shattering thousands of buildings in dozens of towns and cities in Sichuan province.

A group of about 15 people surrounded an Associated Press reporter at a gasoline station in Miangyang city Sunday, appealing for help for their village, Xiushui.

"The government is doing nothing to help us," said one man who identified himself only by his surname, Chen. "If I gave you my complete name the government would track me down."

He said Xiushui was about 12 miles from Mianyang, which is north of Chengdu. Chen did not say how many people lived there, handing over a note which said it had been signed "by the people of Xiushui."

"Please go to our village of Xiushui to cover the situation. The government is doing nothing to help us get water or housing," the note said.

More than 200 rescuers from Japan, Russia, South Korea and Singapore are searching alongside Chinese soldiers.

More international aid was arriving, with a U.S. Air Force cargo plane loaded with tents, lanterns and 15,000 meals landing Sunday in the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu.

"We are extending the helping hand of a friend to you in the aftermath of this terrible earthquake," U.S. Gen. Charles Hooper said.

The number of security forces helping victims rose to almost 150,000, and the government added cash payments to victims to its response.

The government would give $715 in compensation to each family that lost a member in the earthquake, China National Radio reported Saturday on its web site. At a State Council meeting hosted by Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing, the government also decided it would also hand out a daily ration of food and $1.40 to survivors, the report said.

Almost a week after the quake struck, rescues were still occurring.

Rescuers pulled at least seven more survivors from collapsed buildings, the last a man saved after 128 hours. Both of his legs had to be amputated. Another, 20-year-old highway worker Jiang Yuhang was pulled free shortly after his mother arrived from a neighboring province.

"I was expecting to see my son's body. I never expected to see him alive," his mother, Long Jinyu, said on state television.

Experts say buried earthquake survivors can last a week or more, depending on factors including the temperature and whether they have water to drink, but that the chances of survival diminish rapidly after the first 24 hours.

Nearly a week after the quake, soldiers who first arrived with little but shovels were better supplied. In the town of Yinghua, rescuers worked through the day, using saws, drills, torches and hands, to free 31-year-old Bian Gengfeng from the wreckage of a six-story chemical factory.

A man rescued from the same site Friday told rescuers that he had been talking with a woman still trapped, setting off Saturday's effort.

"Uncle called me yesterday and said 'mom was alive' and I should come and wait here," said 10-year-old Luo Ting, who watched her mother being rescued.

Xinhua said Russian rescuers had found a 61-year-old woman alive late Saturday after being buried for 127 hours, the first survivor found by foreign workers.

"I express heartfelt thanks to the foreign governments and international friends that have contributed to our quake relief work," Chinese President Hu Jintao was quoted as saying by Xinhua Sunday.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gBr_dOzJ9Pnc_U9gSgtTgE-cR-KwD90NREQ00

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Thousands flee overflowing lake in quake province

China searches for quake survivors, toll nears 30,000

Sat May 17, 2008 11:02pm EDT

* More survivors found; toll near 30,000

* Strong new aftershock, magnitude 6.1

* Weather, treacherous terrain affect rescue work

(Recasts, updates throughout)

By Chris Buckley

BEICHUAN, China, May 18 (Reuters) - Thousands of soldiers and families looking for missing kin streamed into one of the worst affected areas of China's massive earthquake on Sunday, as a strong new aftershock hit and the death toll neared 30,000.

Rescue workers have plucked more than 60 more survivors from the rubble following Monday's quake in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, even as hopes fade for the estimated 10,000 people or so still trapped under the rubble.

The United States Geological Survey reported a tremor of 6.1 magnitude early on Sunday centred 80 km (50 miles) west of Guangyuan, the latest in a series of aftershocks to hit Sichuan.

The official Xinhua news agency said there was no immediate word of additional damage or casualties in the area.

In the provincial capital, Chengdu, some 200 km south of the new tremor's epicentre, buildings swayed and people rushed out into the streets, risking a soaking from a passing storm.

But nuclear facilities close to the affected zone, including China's chief nuclear weapons research lab, are "all in a safe and controllable state", Xinhua said.

In Beichuan, hard hit by the quake and which many people fled on Saturday following warnings a dam may collapse, worried relatives quarreled with police who tried to prevent them entering the area, citing safety reasons.

"I've travelled all this way, and I don't know where my father is," said Chen Shiquan, who had come back from the neighbouring province of Qinghai where he works to look for this father, Chen Xiaoqu.

"To let me get this far and then not let me in is too cruel," he added.

In Yingxiu, close to the epicentre of Monday's 7.9 magnitude quake, at least 56 people were rescued, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Soldiers engaged in relief work "have their hands stained with blood and earth after days of searches in the debris", Xinhua added.

Thousands of people have fled in the Beichuan area amid fears a lake could burst its banks, hampering rescue efforts after the deadliest earthquake in more than three decades.

At least one barrier lake, formed after rocks blocked a river, has burst its banks but caused no casualties, Xinhua said.

Fu Xingyue, looking for his daughter who was supposed to turn six the day after the quake happened, brushed off safety concerns.

"I don't think the dam is a big threat, and anyway, there's nothing I can do. I have to keep searching," said Fu, who works as a truck driver and has spent days desperately searching though rubble and shouting out his daughter's name.

BAD WEATHER, AFTERSHOCKS

Rescue work has been complicated by bad weather, treacherous terrain and hundreds of aftershocks.

President Hu Jintao urged emergency workers not to give up efforts to find survivors. "We should put people first and saving people's lives is still the top priority of the relief work," he said.

Offers of help have flooded in and rescue teams from Japan, Russia, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore have arrived. Donations from home and abroad have topped 6 billion yuan ($858 million).

Fujiya Koji, head of the Japanese rescue team in Sichuan, told Reuters that chances of finding more survivors were low.

"We haven't been able to find any survivors yet. Generally by this stage the likelihood of survival is low. They say they have been finding some in Beichuan and we'll certainly keep trying," he added.

China has said it expects the final death toll from the earthquake to exceed 50,000. About 4.8 million people have lost their homes and the days are numbered in which survivors can be found.

Premier Wen said the quake was "the biggest and most destructive" since before the Communist revolution of 1949 and the quick response had helped reduce casualties. ($1=6.990 Yuan) (Additional reporting by John Ruwitch; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSPEK338498

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Thousands flee overflowing lake in quake province

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=645 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=style2 align=middle>Quake-caused lake bursts, no casualties reported </TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#cccccc height=1></TD></TR><TR><TD align=right height=25>

Adjust font size:

Adjust font size:<SCRIPT language=javascript type=text/javascript><!-- drawline1(); //--> </SCRIPT><SCRIPT langage="javascript"> printResizeButton(); </SCRIPT> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=630 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=style3 style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 10px"><!--enpproperty <url>http://www.china.org.cn/china/wenchuan_earthquake/2008-05/18/content_15301225.htm</url><domainname>www.china.org.cn</domainname><abstract>A barrier lake, which was formed by the blocking of a river in quake-hit Sichuan Province breached but caused no casualties, rescue headquarters said on Saturday.</abstract><date>2008-05-18 07:35:22.0</date><author>王茜</author><title>Quake-caused lake bursts, no casualties reported</title><keyword>earthquake;lake</keyword><subtitle>Quake-caused lake bursts, no casualties reported</subtitle><introtitle>Quake-caused lake bursts, no casualties reported</introtitle><siteid>1007</siteid><nodeid>7044430</nodeid><nodename>Latest updates</nodename>/enpproperty--><!--enpcontent-->[LEFT]A barrier lake, which was formed by the blocking of a river in quake-hit Sichuan Province breached but caused no casualties, rescue headquarters said on Saturday.

[B][I][U][LEFT]The lake formed in the upper reaches of the Jianjiang River in Pengzhou City with a volume of 1.6 million cubic meters. It burst at 2:30 pm Friday, according to the general headquarters for quake relief under the State Council.

Residents in the downstream were evacuated in time. The burst caused no casualties, the headquarters said.

[LEFT]A reservoir downstream also discharged water in advance so as to receive the water from the lake.

[LEFT]Many barrier lakes formed after Monday's 7.8 magnitude earthquake caused landslides, which blocked rivers.

[LEFT]Experts were also closely monitoring another barrier lake in Beihcuan County. The lake was threatening the county seat downstream.

[LEFT]There had been no burst of reservoirs in the quake-hit areas, the headquarters' team in charge of water facilities said.

[LEFT]Liu Ning, Ministry of Water Resources' engineer-in-chief, told Xinhua on Saturday some water facility projects, such as reservoirs and hydroelectric stations suffered damages after the quake.

To prevent new disasters, the ministry had dispatched 25 work teams to check affected reservoirs, Liu added.

(Xinhua News Agency May 18, 2008)

http://66.102.9.104/translate_c?hl=en&langpair=zh%7Cen&u=http://www.china.org.cn/china/wenchuan_earthquake/2008-05/18/content_15301225.htm

thanks to Treyfish

[gsgs]

Re: Thousands flee overflowing lake in quake province

where did the 1.25M evacuation number come from ?

just curious how such news evolve,mutate,recombine



when the "thousands" fled, did they have the news that the dam was broken ?
It wasn't at Xinhua at that time, AFAIR.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Thousands flee overflowing lake in quake province

Lakes overflow in earthquake-hit county


www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-18 11:59:43

Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China

QINGCHUAN, Sichuan Province, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Three barrier lakes, which were formed by the blocking of a river in quake-hit Sichuan Province, overflowed Sunday morning but have caused no emergencies, local rescue headquarters said on Sunday.

The three lakes, formed in Qingchuan county, had a volume of more than 10 million cubic meters, said an official with the headquarters for quake relief of Qingchuan County.

More than 20 million cubic meters of rocks slid after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on May 12 and formed the lakes.

Nearly 60,000 people live in seven towns and a county seat in the lower reaches of the three lakes.

The county has decided to allow natural overflowing and artificially divert water to ensure safety.

Many barrier lakes formed after the earthquake.

There had been no burst of reservoirs in the quake-hit areas, the headquarters' team in charge of water facilities said.

Liu Ning, Ministry of Water Resources' engineer-in-chief, told Xinhua on Saturday some water facility projects, such as reservoirs and hydroelectric stations, suffered damages after the quake.

To prevent disasters, the ministry has dispatched 25 work teams to check affected reservoirs.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/18/content_8198555.htm

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Thousands flee overflowing lake in quake province

China Says 205,371 People Evacuated From Quake Zone (Update1)

By Dune Lawrence and William Bi

May 18 (Bloomberg) -- China's military said it evacuated 205,371 people from areas hit by the country's deadliest earthquake in 32 years, as aftershocks disrupted relief efforts in Sichuan province.

Military personnel pulled 21,566 people from the rubble in the six days since the quake, Ministry of Defense spokesman Hu Changming told journalists in Beijing today. The death toll increased to 32,477, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.

``They are operating under very harsh conditions,'' Hu said. ``We are in a crucial phase of the rescue and recovery.''

The 7.9-magnitude quake injured 220,109, according to the latest official tally today. It also leveled more than 4.7 million houses in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. Sichuan's civil affairs office provided shelter to 4.8 million displaced people at 2,885 locations as of yesterday, the government said.

Two U.S. military transport planes delivered food, blankets and electrical generators to Sichuan. The C-17 Globemaster aircraft from the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii landed today 90 minutes apart in the city of Chengdu, about 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) southwest of Beijing.

``The United States remains ready to assist in any way possible,'' General Charles W. Hooper, defense attach? at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, said in Chengdu today. ``We are extending the helping hand of a friend to you in the aftermath of this terrible earthquake.''

Foreigners Arrive

China has allowed more than 200 foreign nationals to join the search-and-rescue effort as the country's own soldiers and medical personnel continue to dig through the rubble of destroyed towns looking for survivors.

Shen Peiyun, 53, was pulled out of the rubble in Yingxiu town in Wenchuan county near the epicenter 148 hours after the quake, Xinhua said today. Only three others have been found alive since yesterday and one of those has since died, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

``The earthquake relief is still a grim struggle, the task is arduous and time is pressing,'' China's President Hu Jintao said late yesterday in comments published on the central government Web site. ``I express heartfelt thanks to the foreign governments and international friends that have contributed to our quake-relief work.''

Attention is switching from rescue efforts to looking after several million refugees who have arrived in the cities of Mianyang and Chengdu seeking shelter. The U.S. planes also brought in more than 15,000 ready-to-eat meals, 655 tents and 2,592 lanterns, said Barbara Dias, public affairs duty officer for the U.S. Pacific Command in Camp Smith, Hawaii.

Quake Refugees

In Mianyang, northeast of Chengdu, the corridors of Jiuzhou Stadium were filled with refugees, with the interior reserved for infants and toddlers. The facility had been divided into zones, each with a team leader and its own police guards.

There were mobile toilets to supplement the permanent facilities, water dispensers, laptops to surf the Internet and free phone calls provided by China Unicom Ltd. and China Mobile Ltd., the nation's two largest wireless operators. The stadium smelled of disinfectant. Psychological counseling was available.

Sichuan province needs 2.6 million tents to house displaced people and rescue workers, Vice Governor Li Chengyuan told reporters yesterday.

Earthquake survivors facing difficulties will get a daily allowance of 500 grams (1.1 pounds) of grain and 10 yuan ($1.43) in cash for 3 months, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said.

The National Development and Reform Commission estimates 10 million people will need food rations for three months, it said in a statement on its Web site today. The commission is working on a plan to transport more grains to the area.

Preventing the spread of disease is the ``key'' public health issue facing China, the World Health Organization said. There were no reports of outbreaks of epidemics or public health threats by midnight yesterday, the Ministry of Health said, according to Xinhua.

`Adequate' Supplies

``Most of the medical supplies are adequate,'' Cai Dayi, director at an orthopedic hospital in Dujiangyan near the quake's epicenter, said today in an interview. ``However, we are running low on surgical masks.''

Teams from Japan, Russia, South Korea and Singapore are in Sichuan helping with the disaster relief. Three Russian planes arrived yesterday and delivered 90 tons of humanitarian aid, Xinhua said, citing Russia's emergencies ministry. The cargo included diesel power generators, sugar, canned meat and rice, according to the report.

The May 12 earthquake was the most powerful to hit China, the world's most populous country with 1.3 billion people, since a magnitude-8.6 quake struck Tibet in 1950, killing 1,526. A 7.5-magnitude temblor in Tangshan in the northeast killed 250,000 in 1976, according to the USGS.

Flooding Threat

Aftershocks and the possibility of flooding from dirt- filled lakes and rivers are threatening survivors and rescue workers alike. A quake measuring 5.7 shook the area at 1:08 a.m. today, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site.

``There have been daily aftershocks and it seems as though we are sitting on top of a row of spring coils,'' said Zhu Huiqin, a 54-year-old doctor from Xuchang Communications Hospital in eastern Henan Province.

Zhu was part of a group of 26 medical personnel from the hospital who are camped at the Zipingpu Dam, upriver from the town of Dujiangyan near the epicenter. Dam workers had assured her the structure was undamaged, after reports it was unsafe.

``No one has come to notify us about any problems,'' she said. Yao Jiangwei, a 22-year-old colleague of Zhu, said dam workers had been adjusting water levels so boats can transport survivors to safer areas.

The China Meteorological Administration forecast rain to start falling in the quake zone from May 20, raising the risk of landslides and the possibility of higher water levels in already damaged dams. Conditions are expected to be cloudy for today and tomorrow, the weather agency said.

Nuclear facilities in the quake zone were confirmed to be safe after officials made checks, Air Force Major General Ma Jian, said today at the Defense Ministry press briefing.

To contact the reporters on this story: William Bi in Mianyang at wbi@bloomberg.net; Eugene Tang via the Beijing bureau on eugenetang@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 18, 2008 05:31 EDT

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aeYJbesWy_5g&refer=home

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Thousands flee overflowing lake in quake province

Thousands flee as China lake bank feared broken

By John Ruwitch and Jason Li

Sat May 17, 7:36 AM ET



Thousands of Chinese fled to the hills on Saturday amid fears a lake formed near the epicenter of this week's earthquake would burst its banks.

The water level at the lake formed after aftershocks blocked a river was rising rapidly in Beichuan and "may burst its bank at any time," the official Xinhua news agency said.

A paramilitary officer told Reuters the likelihood of the lake bursting its banks was "extremely big."

A witness said by telephone the military was evacuating everyone in Beichuan, even rescue workers.

A Reuters journalist fled an area near the Beichuan Middle School, which President Hu Jintao visited on Friday. Soldiers were talking on the radio saying "all retreat" and there was a lot of dust in the air. Troops were leaving fast.

China has said it expects the final death toll from Monday's 7.9 magnitude earthquake to exceed 50,000. About 4.8 million people have lost their homes and the days are numbered in which survivors can be found.

Cabinet spokesman Guo Weimin, taking a long pause to compose himself as he read from an updated casualty report at a news conference, put the death toll so far at 28,881.

Sichuan Vice-Governor Li Chengyun said more than 188,100 people have been injured and about 10,600 people remain buried under rubble. About 2.6 million tents are needed to shelter 4.8 million displaced residents, he added.

Hong Kong cable television said some 1.2 million people were also being evacuated in Qingchuan, 90 km (55 miles) northeast of Beichuan, as rising waters threatened to burst a lake's banks.

There has been growing concern about the safety of dams and reservoirs which have been weakened in the mountainous province of Sichuan, an area about the size of Spain.

A cable repair worker was killed on Saturday, five days after the original disaster, when hit by rocks as a moderate aftershock, one of hundreds, hit Lixian county.

Many survivors were also found, including a German tourist who was pulled from rubble in Wenchuan after being buried for 114 hours, Xinhua said.

A 69-year-old villager was one of 33 people rescued in Beichuan. He was buried for 119 hours. Troops evacuated 18 scientists trapped in a forest in nearby Mianzhu.

On Friday, soldiers pulled 2,538 people from rubble, only 165 of whom were still alive, the cabinet spokesman said, an indication hope of finding survivors was slim.

"Although the time for the best chance of rescue, the first 72 hours after an earthquake, has passed, saving lives remains the top priority of our work," President Hu told distraught survivors just over a week after a jubilant China celebrated the Olympic torch reaching the summit of Mount Everest.

BIGGEST SINCE THE COMMUNIST REVOLUTION

Premier Wen Jiabao said the quake was "the biggest and most destructive" since before the Communist revolution of 1949 and the quick response had helped reduce casualties.

That compares even with the 1976 tremor in the northern city of Tangshan which killed up to 300,000 people.

And as the weather gets warmer, survivors were worried about hygiene and asking questions about their longer-term future.

"What we don't need now is more instant noodles," said truck driver Wang Jianhong in the city of Dujiangyan. "We want to know now what will happen with our lives."

In Sichuan and neighboring Chongqing, at least 17 reservoirs have been damaged, with some dams cracked or leaking water. Several are on the Min river, which tumbles through the worst-hit areas between the Tibetan plateau and the Sichuan plain.

The Lianhehua dam, built in the late 1950s northwest of Dujiangyan, showed cracks big enough to put a fist in.

"When the dam is in this shape, we cannot feel relaxed," said farmer Feng Binggui who has moved from his village below the dam into the hills.

China is also on precautionary alert against possible radiation leaks, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said. The country's chief nuclear weapons research lab is in Mianyang, along with several secret atomic sites, but there are no nuclear power stations.

China has sent 150,000 troops to the disaster area, but roads buckled by the quake and blocked by landslides have made it hard for supplies and rescuers to reach the worst-hit areas.

Offers of help have flooded in and foreign rescue teams from Japan, Russia, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore have arrived. Donations topped 6 billion yuan ($857 million).

(Additional reporting by Chris Buckley in Dujiangyan, Guo Shipeng and Benjamin Kang Lim in Beijing, and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080517/wl_nm/quake_dc;_ylt=Aiq7rGxIJMDxQd41QvXD8y4DW7oF