| |
DUJIANGYAN, China: A swollen "quake lake" in southwest China continued to rise on Sunday despite intensive efforts to drain it, triggering official warnings that the situation remained dangerous.
Soldiers had already dug one channel to drain water from Tangjiashan lake, and were working on Sunday to clear a second one in hopes of reducing the risk that it might burst its banks, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
"The water level of the Tangjiashan 'quake lake' in southwest China was continuing to rise dangerously on Sunday despite the operation of a man-made drainage channel since Saturday morning," Xinhua reported.
Meanwhile, an aftershock with a 5.0 magnitude rattled the area on Sunday, US seismologists reported, triggering what Xinhua called "massive landslides" on nearby mountains.
The impact on the Tangjiashan lake was not immediately known, though Xinhua said the channel appeared to be functioning smoothly following the aftershock.
Xinhua had warned earlier that landslides nearby could have catastrophic consequences, sending debris cascading into the massive body of water and prompting it to break through its banks.
The lake has become one of the most pressing issues in the aftermath of the May 12 quake that struck mountainous Sichuan province, killing 69,136 and leaving 17,686 others missing, according to the latest toll issued on Sunday.
Millions more have been left homeless by the 8.0-magnitude quake, which triggered huge landslides that blocked rivers and created more than 30 unstable "quake lakes," including the Tangjiashan one on the Jianjiang river.
General Ge Zhenfeng, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, said people living near the lake were still not safe.
"Generally speaking, construction of the lake's drainage projects is proceeding well, but the lake remains dangerous for hundreds of thousands of people downstream," Ge told Xinhua.
"It will take us a few days to eliminate the potential danger of the lake," said the general, who is supervising relief work at the site.
Troops on Saturday began draining water from the lake through a hastily dug channel to stop it from bursting through its banks and emptying 220 million cubic metres of water downstream.
However, the inflow of water into the lake was still nearly four times more than the amount leaving it, Xinhua said, citing Zhang Ting, head of Sichuan's hydro-meteorological bureau.
"Controlling the lake outflow is critical for the dam's safety," Zhang said.
In the space of three hours on Sunday, the water level in the lake rose 12 centimetres, according to data provided by Xinhua. During the 15 hours prior to that, the lake had risen 68 centimetres.
Adding to the woes, between 400 and 500 millimetres of rainfall, well above the normal level, was forecast upstream in June and July, Xinhua reported, citing Water Resources Minister Chen Lei.
"This poses a challenge for the already swollen lake... Aftershocks, landslides and leakage are also threatening the lake's barrier," the agency quoted Chen as saying during a visit to Sichuan.
Soldiers aided by 30 bulldozers and excavators were still working on the second channel. The troops also fired missiles to blast away boulders in the channels in order to accelerate drainage, Xinhua reported.
In the city of Mianyang, downstream from Tangjiashan lake, many residents had been evacuated to tent camps to save them from disaster if the barrier were to collapse.
Huang Xiuying, a 52-year-old woman, had been in a hillside camp for more than a week, and her patience was starting to wear thin.
"The government is just trying to be safe but it is rather hard to accept," she said, adding that her family had eaten mostly instant noodles since arriving there.
"We just wait and wait. It's difficult but we are all in the same position here so how can you complain?" - AFP/de
|
