China quake victims fear burst of lake bank

BBC News, 17 May 2008-

There has been panic in the quake-hit Chinese city of Beichuan after reports the entire city could be flooded by a river bursting its banks.

The BBC’s Paul Danahar in Beichuan says there was a stampede as thousands of people fled to higher ground.

The whole city was evacuated, forcing the suspension of all rescue efforts, our correspondent says.

(photo: People sought refuge on the hills surrounding the destroyed city/BBC News)

Beichuan is close to the epicentre of Monday’s devastating quake, in which it is feared about 50,000 people died.

On Saturday the number of confirmed deaths rose to 28,881. The Chinese authorities say that about five million people have been made homeless by the disaster.

Our correspondent in Beichuan says the city went from a scene of rescue and relief into mayhem.

“Everybody just ran – rescuers, army relief teams, medical workers and locals – and people who were in the process of being rescued had to be left behind.

“We were in the process of filming a man about to be pulled out after hours of digging and the rescue team had to abandon him and run.”

The Xinhua news agency warned that a lake, formed by landslides blocking a river, “may burst its bank at any time”.

However, the authorities later said the city was not under threat from the water.

Our correspondent returned to the heart of the city as the rescue effort resumed, but he says the majority of people are remaining on the surrounding hillsides.

“It is not surprising,” he says. “This entire community has been shaken to its core, they are surrounded by unstable buildings which threaten to topple at any moment, and the people have been deeply traumatised by what has happened.”…… (more details from BBC News:  China quake victims flee ‘flood’)