“…A strong aftershock struck China’s quake-battered Sichuan Province on Thursday as rising water levels in a lake caused by landslides in the May 12 temblor forced evacuations from downstream areas…”

Source: AP

A strong aftershock struck China’s quake-battered Sichuan Province on Thursday as rising water levels in a lake caused by landslides in the May 12 temblor forced evacuations from downstream areas.

There were no immediate reports of new damage or injuries caused by the aftershock, which had a magnitude of 5.3. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that it struck at 12:41 p.m. just south of the town of Qingchuan at the relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers, or 6 miles.

The authorities had begun evacuating people downstream from Tangjiashan lake, formed above the devastated town of Beichuan, after water rose to within two meters, or six feet, of flooding its bank.

The authorities plan to drain the lake through a diversion channel. By noon Thursday, people in Mianyang had begun moving to higher ground. Several tent camps for quake victims were empty, and the police and army troops were blocking roads into low-lying areas.

At a camp at Fule Mountain, near Mianyang, 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.

The flood threat has been exacerbated by waves formed by aftershocks and by continued heavy rain in the mountains upstream. Steep hillsides plunged into river valleys during the May 12 quake, blocking rivers and forming more than 30 new lakes. Explosives and heavy machinery have been used in several cases to clear the rubble.

“We must prepare for dealing with the worst situation but strive for the best results,” the water resource minister, Chen Lei, was quoted as saying by Xinhua, the official news agency.

Speaking at a meeting Wednesday in Sichuan’s provincial capital, Chengdu, Chen stressed the need for caution in draining Tangjiashan to ensure the safety of people downstream.

Skies in Mianyang were clear, but rain was expected by the weekend.

Aftershocks have continued to cause landslides throughout the quake zone, prompting the evacuation of more than 14,000 around the town of Hanwang, Xinhua reported.

Elsewhere, parents whose children were crushed to death in their classrooms vowed to continue campaigns 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 was becoming increasingly nervous about their protests.

The quake has so far killed more than 69,000 people. Lu Guangjin, a spokesman for the State Council, China’s cabinet, said there was no tally on how many of the victims were schoolchildren.

At least 17,991 people are still 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; angry parents and some rescuers have pointed to steel reinforcing rods in broken concrete slabs that were thinner than a ballpoint pen.

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