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China to evacuate 1.3 million

MIANYANG (SICHUAN): Up to 1.3 million people in China’s Sichuan Province have been ordered to evacuate to higher grounds for fear of a major “quake lake” burst as a result of flooding and strong aftershocks.

Tan Li, Party Secretary of Mianyang City and chief of Mianyang City Quake Control and Relief Headquarters, on Friday issued an order that people living downstream from Tangjiashan, a swelling quake-induced lake, must evacuate. The mass evacuation, dubbed a “drill” by local government officials, is said to make way for a possible flood-discharging operation set for the weekend.

In accordance with a notice posted by the Tongkou Township Government of Mianyang City, from Saturday onwards, people are banned from activities at a line below 36 meters — a mark the level of the flood water might come up to when the quake lake fully opens.

It was feared that Tangjiashan Lake, formed by landslips that blocked the Jianjiang River after the May 12 quake, was at risk of breaching its bank.

This has worsened as heavy downpours on Wednesday and Thursday around Tangjiashan, driving up the water level in the lake.

Tangjiashan, one of 35 such lakes, is inaccessible by road and can only be reached by foot or air.

On Thursday, the water level was 745.5 metres at its highest point before the debris blockage, about 22.78 metres from the lowest barrier.

Meanwhile, the seismological observatory in Sichuan said aftershocks would continue along the northern end of the Wenchuan-Beichuan-Qingchuan faultline in the coming days, with the most powerful aftershock being estimated to go around 6.5 magnitude on the Richter Scale. — Xinhua

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