China deals with backed-up rivers, damaged reservoirs

Two weeks after the magnitude 7.9 earthquake centered in Sichuan province, the confirmed death toll rose to 65,080 with 23,150 people still missing, the Cabinet said. The government has said the final number of dead was expected to exceed 80,000.

To fight the flood risk, 1,800 soldiers arrived on foot at the new Tangjiashan lake in Beichuan county on Monday, each carrying 22 pounds (10 kilograms) of explosives to blast through the debris, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The lake is two miles (3.2 kilometers) upstream from the center of Beichuan county. Thousands of people who remained there after the initial earthquake have been evacuated in recent days as a precaution.

With the clearing of weather that had prevented helicopter flights, heavy equipment was also lifted into the area to help remove debris, state media reported.

But thunderstorms were forecast for parts of Sichuan later Monday and Tuesday, the China Meteorological Administration said, adding that they “could increase the risks posed by river blockages in some quake-hit areas.”

The rains were likely to put more pressure on dams and reservoirs weakened by the quake. The storms herald the start of the summer rainy season that accounts for more than 70 percent of the 2 feet (60 centimeters) of rain that falls on the area each year.

The backed-up lake is one of several dozen in Sichuan.

In An county, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Beichuan, a landslide blocked the Chaping river, submerging Shuangdian village.

Residents say the lake has been rising by about 2.5 yards (meters) a day.

“The water was covering the road, and two days later I could not see the roof of my house anymore,” said Liu Zhongfu, a 31-year-old truck driver who built his two-story wooden house himself, standing on a mountain overlooking the new lake. A sofa and bits of wood that were once part of houses could be seen floating among the debris in the milky green water.

Liu was working away from home when the earthquake hit. His wife, 3-month old daughter and 60-year-old mother were all unhurt.

“I thought I could go back but I have nothing now. My village, it’s all become a sea,” he said.

Water there was backed up two miles (3.2 kilometers) along the river, said Wang Li, county Communist Party secretary.

“We need to take care of this soon. This is a serious situation,” he said.

Elsewhere, 600 people were voluntarily evacuated from Guanzhuang in Qingchuan county because of landslide worries.

“There’s no danger for this exact moment from flooding but we are very worried because the whole mountain is loose,” said Ma Jian, a local official.

Problems with dams and reservoirs from the earthquake and its aftershocks have also been reported in other provinces.

The Water Resources Ministry said Monday that three small reservoirs in Shaanxi province, just north of Sichuan, were in danger of collapse after the strong aftershock Sunday. A total 2,383 reservoirs were in danger across the country, the ministry said.

China’s top Communist Party leaders said that relief efforts should now focus more on resettlement and post quake reconstruction, but that work to find survivors should not stop.

The shift was announced at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee presided over by President Hu Jintao, Xinhua reported.

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