China Quake Refugees Flee As Lake Rises

Thousands Moved To Higher Ground Amid Flood Fears; 69,000 Confirmed Dead, 18,000 Missing

(AP)  More than 10,000 people were moved to higher ground Thursday as water continued to rise in a brimming lake formed by landslides from China's May 12 earthquake and another strong aftershock rocked the quake-battered region.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries following the 5.3 aftershock in Sichuan province.

Meanwhile, Premier Wen Jiabao arrived by helicopter Thursday afternoon in the town of Mianyang downstream from Tangjiashan lake to oversee attempts to drain the water. It was his third trip to the quake zone.

"Now is a critical moment for the Tangjiashan quake lake, and the most important thing is to ensure there are no casualties," Wen was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.

The lake was formed above the devastated town of Beichuan after rocks and soil blocked the route of the Tongkou river.

Xinhua reported that water was still more than four feet below a diversion channel carved to drain the lake and it was not clear whether other measures were being taken to control the steadily rising water level.

"If it keeps raining heavily, Tangjiashan's water level will rise to the level of the flood-relief channel within two or three days, after which the water will naturally flow out through the channel," said a staffer reached by phone at the Sichuan provincial flood relief headquarters. The man declined to give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Xinhua reported that 10,441 people in a low-lying area 32 miles from the lake area were evacuated Thursday afternoon and a traffic ban was being enforced in areas downstream from the dam. According to Xinhua some 250,000 people have been evacuated from areas threatened by the lake.

Authorities had earlier begun evacuating people in the city of Mianyang, where tent camps set up to house quake victims were emptying out.

At a camp near Mianyang's Fule mountain, refugees said they had been told to leave for high ground by mid-afternoon.

"They told everybody to evacuate because it wouldn't be safe," said Yang Jiayun, sitting in her tent pitched near a hillside.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the aftershock struck at 12:41 p.m. just south of Qingchuan city at the relatively shallow depth of six miles.

The frequent aftershocks have exacerbated the Tangjiashan flood threat by sending waves crashing against the mud and rock blocking the river.

Steep hillsides that collapsed into river valleys during the massive earthquake blocked water and formed more than 30 new lakes throughout the area. Explosives and heavy machinery have been used in several cases to clear the rubble and divert water before it rises to threatening levels. Heavy rain in mountains upstream have also increased the risk.

Skies in Mianyang were clear at midday Thursday, although rain was expected by the weekend.

Elsewhere in the quake zone, parents whose children were crushed to death in their classrooms vowed to continue a grass-roots campaign for investigations into alleged corruption and shoddy construction.

On Wednesday, security forces blocked grieving parents and reporters from some collapsed schools in a sign that Beijing is becoming increasingly intolerant of their protests.

The quake has killed more than 69,000 people, but Lu Guangjin, spokesman for the State Council, China's Cabinet, said there was no tally of how many of the victims were schoolchildren. Another 17,991 people remain missing and about five million have been left homeless, forced to seek shelter in tent camps and hastily built prefabricated housing units.

The government has said about 7,000 classrooms were destroyed, while angry parents and even rescuers have pointed to steel reinforcing rods in broken concrete slabs that were thinner than a ball point pen.

Authorities promised to investigate the school collapses, but there has not been any word on the findings. Lu said officials were analyzing samples of the rubble but that the work would take time.

On Thursday, Qi Ji, vice minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, disputed the assertion that a disproportionate number of classrooms had collapsed, saying that "other public buildings and homes also collapsed." But he acknowledged that tougher building standards should be used in the reconstruction process.

Qi, who spoke at a regular news conference, said authorities are focusing on the goal of producing one million prefabricated temporary housing units within three months, a task that would require "round the clock" effort.

[joechristine]

As a Chinese living in quite safe south-eastern China,i feel really sad and want to cry,having known so many Chinese fellows'' deaths in this major disaster.And many Chinese memorize those lives that have passed away in all kinds of forms. We put all-out effort into rescuing and helping those Chinese fellows in the disaster.We definitely overcome this disaster.
My heart goes on with all the victims and survivals!
God bless China!

[fireceos]

America''s potential non-participation in the Olympics may no longer be an issue of politics (and should never be) as suggested by Nancy Pelosi, but may be a matter of the fact people can no longer afford travel.

[bcbbkake]

To AL2008...Global warming earthquakes??? Earthquakes are not a byproduct of global warming, and there is no way to stop them. (If one were to study the ever-increasing number and intensity of earthquakes over the past 50-60 years, one could make a real comparison between them and birth pangs...perhaps one should crack open his Bible and read all about it). While I will concede that global warming is ramping up our storm systems, the start of this severe weather can be traced back to the huge earthquake in Indonesia that happened on Dec. 24 a few years back that put a WOBBLE in the earth''s axis. It seriously upset the JET STREAM, which still has not stablized. I do believe there is global warming occurring, but it is not the cause of our extreme weather, just enhancing it. As for cutting CO2 emissions by taxing companies that spew it, this will not stop pollution; they will pay the dime and conduct business as usual, passing on the cost to the consumer. And, producing fuel that cuts into our food production will only drive up the cost of those foods and increase starvation, especially in those countries already suffering. We are already seeing it. We humans are spiraling toward a critical mass in our unchecked and selfish attitude toward this planet. Thinking that we humans can control nature is blatantly arrogant. Things will be changing, not the way we want them to, and we aren''t going to like it.

[aaabee-2009]

Posted by bradosol at 11:51 AM : Jun 06, 2008

As you can read below, those who have known little suffering in their lives can laugh and poke fun at those who have been forced by circumstances to understand suffering fully.

Isn''t it odd; the more well-fed, well-dressed, and privilaged a life human beings have, the less they seem to be able to give, compassionately, emotionally, as humanitarians.

It is in the common causes of disaster, devastation, and suffering that we humans lean most on one another and for a time, replace gilded trivialities with real compassion and cooperation, like the citizens did for each other in New Orleans and do in China.

The true class of a person shows itself in times like these, as you can read below.

[bks59]

bradosol:
one of the few comments that is real, the devastation and conditions for those in China''s earthquakes can only be imagined, no doubt your care and assistance is appreciated more than you may ever know.

[al2008-2009]

I*m appalled at the administration*s lack of response to the global warming earthquakes, hurricanes, and cyclones as well. We have no comprehensive strategy in place whatsoever, let alone a detailed plan of action to mitigate the effects of these quakes and cyclones, and mother earth continues to suffer while the administration refuses to go forward and do what*s right for mother earth.
.
How long must we sit idly by while our mother continues to suffer from the warming taking place at a feverish pace? How long must our mother suffer before we have proper c02 taxes put into place? How long must the destruction of mother earth take place before we finally put responsible regulations into effect? How long must we wait until we beef up our corn ethanol production? At least Obama wants to cut c02 pollution by 80%; he is definitely our best hope. As Obama has recently stated on Earth Day, we will save the planet. We will change our economy to a green economy, eliminate our current anti-progressive economy, and eliminate c02 pollution by 80% in our generation. This is a change we all definitely need, a much needed change for the better.
.
We the people call upon our leaders to implement a comprehensive antiglobal warming strategy at once and work in coordination with state and federal officials; these quakes, cyclones and disasters continue to worsen and the quicker we stop the warming the sooner we will see these quakes and storms cease. We need action now.

[bradosol]

New Beijing 2008 olympic event

"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

posted by dragonwagon5

___________________________________________________

A relative of mine has been in the China earthquake zone for two weeks, working for a children''s aid organisation.

She''s helping kids who really have run for their lives, lost their parents, been dug out from rubble, been told their friends are dead. Many thousands are involved.

Maybe I''ll send her a copy of this post so she can have it translated for people there to applaud such wit.

On second thoughts, I won''t send it, because that would give it coverage it certainly doesn''t deserve!

[feelfree4u]

RE: "That is why they say "Liberalism is a Mental disorder"

Posted by corey2444

Only really, really stupid folks say that, as you have just demonstrated.

If you weren''t on of these, then you might know that there is no "high-ground" in New Orleans.