Society
Landslides force evacuation
By HUANG ZHAOHUA (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-10 12:24
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 Residents sit beside a large pit near a reservoir in Laibin of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Tuesday. More than 2,500 local residents were evacuated after the land sunk due to days of rainfall. [Zhou Hua / Xinhua] |
Laibin, Guangxi - "When we saw a crack in the floor and walls that reached to the side of neighbors' houses, and when we saw that the land also had sunk, we were very scared.
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But Tan and his fellow villagers can relax a bit as government aid has come.
"Now all the residents of Jili village have been safely moved to the settlements, and 30 security officers are keeping watch over the village 24 hours a day," an official with the regional flood control and drought relief office said on Tuesday.
From May 31 to June 2, Guangxi suffered the heaviest rainfalls, with subsequent floods and landslides hitting 42 counties in nine cities, including Laibin, Yulin and Wuzhou.
On the morning of June 3, due to the rain-triggered landslides in the Jili village of Xingbin town of Laibin, a field of about 3.3 hectares sank. The field is 400 meters from the entrance to the village.
The pit is 30 to 40 meters deep and more than 50 meters wide, and the village ground had cracked in many places, according to the latest report from the authority.
"The potential danger of landslides still exists in this area. When the wind rises, you can see the soil and rocks roll down the hillside. To ensure the safety of the villagers, entry to the village has been blocked, and none of villagers can be allowed to return for now," an official said.
At the Jili Primary School, where a temporary tent for victims has been set up, a man, who only gave his family name as Zhang, was cooking.
He was there as a volunteer to help the displaced.
"I live in a nearby neighborhood village. When I heard that the Jili villagers were settled here, I thought that I could do something for them, so every day I come here to cook."
Zhang Xuejiao, a senior student at Laibin No 8 Middle School, who has lived in the settlement for days, said 11 people from several families live in one tent, with females and males living separately.
"Every day all of us gather to eat dinner, which is offered for free, " Zhang said.
Although the situation remains challenging, she confronts the reconstruction with optimism.
At another temporary settlement, most of the villagers of Jili are taking an active part in setting up their makeshift homes.
The temporary settlement is near the Jili Primary School, taking up an area of 2,700 square meters with about 60 portable dwellings.
On Tuesday, portable dwellings were available for about 245 villagers of 66 households from Jili. Each room has 20 square meters and can hold 10 people.
Jia Zhaoqiang, the Party secretary of Xingbin town, told China Daily that all of Jili villagers moved to the portable dwellings on Tuesday.
Near the portable dwellings are public toilets, kitchens and bathrooms, which can meet the basic needs of life, he said.
Officials estimate that they will have to live there for six months, until the village has been reconstructed.
"So we plan to provide each room with television and an electric fan," he said.
In the face of the current difficulties, most of the villagers are still optimistic and actively engaging in reconstruction.
"Although the current accommodation is not as comfortable as home, I believe we can overcome the difficulties with the help of the government," a senior resident said.