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Heavy Rains Bring More Misery to Disaster Area in China

   VOA News 12 August 2010
   Heavy  rains compound search and rescue operation in northwest China's
   Gansu province, 12 Aug 2010

Photo: AFP

   Heavy  rains compound search and rescue operation in northwest China's
   Gansu province, 12 Aug 2010

   Another  wave  of  heavy  rains  in northwestern China is complicating
   efforts to assist the survivors of Sunday's deadly mudslide.
   The rains fell overnight Thursday, triggering another landslide of mud
   and sludge onto streets and bridges in Gansu province.
   The  disaster  has claimed the lives of at least 1,117 people, many of
   them  in  the  town  of Zhouqu. At least 625 others are still missing.
   Hundreds  of  homes were buried under the rock and mud, leaving scores
   of residents homeless.
   Emergency  crews  rescued a 50-year-old man from the second floor of a
   hotel  Wednesday, but hopes have faded that anymore survivors would be
   found.
   Authorities  are now turning their attention to preventing an outbreak
   of disease due to a lack of clean water and sanitation.
   The  Gansu  mudslide  is  the  deadliest  single  incident in weeks of
   flooding that has killed at least 1,900 people across China this year.
   The  damage  runs  into  the tens of billions of dollars, affecting 28
   provinces and regions.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

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