Society

Downpour hits China's mudslide-leveled town, 3 missing

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-12 11:30

ZHOUQU, Gansu - An overnight downpour has brought new disaster to north China's mudslide-ravaged town of Zhouqu, leaving three people missing, said local authorities Thursday.

The downpour triggered floods and mudslides along the Bailong River in Zhouqu County, Gansu Province.

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In Xizangba Village, six houses were swept away, leaving three people missing, according to a spokesman with the disaster relief headquarters.

He said one of the mudslides in Libazi Village formed a blockage on the river, raising the water level by three meters early Thursday.

Another mudslide blocked a major "lifeline" road along which relief goods were carried into the town. An estimated 45,000 cubic meters of mudslide debris covered the Lianghekou-Zhouqu Road, the shortest route for bringing goods from the provincial capital of Gansu to Zhouqu.

The headquarters had sent workers aided with heavy machinery overnight to repair the road, said the spokesman.

The provincial weather station said 15 to 30 millimeters of rain fell on Zhouqu from 9 pm Wednesday to 8:00 am Thursday.

Heavier downpours forecast for the next 24 hours were expected to bring 40 to 60 mm of rain, and in some areas, up to 90 mm, it said.

Heavy rains were been forecast through Friday, posing dangers to survivors and rescuers.

The death toll from the massive mudslides in the early hours of Sunday had risen to 1,117, with 627 still missing as of Wednesday.

A total of 567 survivors had received clinical treatment and 64 seriously injured had been hospitalized, the provincial civil affairs bureau said in a statement.