Thousands flee amid flood fears
17/05/2008 22:49  - (SA)  

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Beichuan - Thousands of Chinese earthquake victims fled areas near the epicentre on Saturday, fearful of floods from rivers blocked by landslides rattled loose in this past week's powerful temblor.

Soldiers carried older people out of Beichuan town - one of the areas hit hardest by the magnitude 7.9 quake, whose confirmed death toll jumped on Saturday to nearly 29 000 - while survivors cradled babies on a road jammed with vehicles and people.

The government says the final toll is expected to exceed 50 000.

The evacuation underscored the jitters running through the disaster zone.

A severe aftershock - the second in two days and measured by the US Geological Survey at magnitude 6 - shook the area early on Sunday morning for 45 seconds, causing people to run into the streets.

River jammed up

A policeman told The Associated Press that rescue officials were worried water from a choked river would inundate the town.

"The river was jammed up by a landslide; now that may burst," the policeman said as he hurried by, not giving his name.

"I'm very scared. I heard that the water will be crashing down here," said Liang Xiao, one of the people fleeing.

The official Xinhua News Agency said earlier that a lake in Beichuan county "may burst its bank at any time".

Residents left for higher ground, but 46 seriously injured were still at risk, the agency said.

Further north, a mountain sheared off by the quake cut the Qingzhu river and covered three villages in a valley near Qingchuan.

No traces remained of the villages, swallowed up by a huge mound of earth, behind which water from the river was backing up.

Rain

Xinhua said more than 2 000 people were evacuated from near that area.

Rain began to fall in Qingchuan county on Saturday evening for the first time since the initial quake, the agency reported -increasing the risk of floods and more building collapses and worsening living conditions for homeless survivors sheltered under tents and makeshift canopies.

Survivors were still being found under destroyed buildings five days after the quake, as the rescue operation grew to 148 000 soldiers and police.

Rescue teams from South Korea, Singapore and Russia began work Saturday, joining Japanese specialists.

- AP

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