China's quake-ravaged areas face other perils

Landslides and flooding possible

Mothers grieved yesterday for their children, who died in the earthquake along with 127 other students at Fuxin Primary School in the Sichuan Province of China. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

BEIJING - The danger is far from over in the mountainous terrain where last week's earthquake struck, with the risks of landslides, avalanches, and flooding growing higher as the summer rainy season begins, Chinese officials said yesterday.

The warning came as the confirmed death toll from the May 12 quake rose to 55,239. Nearly 25,000 people are missing, but rescue efforts have been virtually halted.

After the quake, finding trapped survivors became the first priority of the military-led rescue effort, and more than 33,400 people were pulled from the ruins alive.

But no rescues have been reported since Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

A television clip of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao declaring that the search for survivors would continue "as long as there's a glimmer of hope" has been dropped from broadcasts after playing continually in the first week after the disaster.

More than 5 million are homeless and may not be able to rebuild their houses any time soon, or ever, because of the instability of the terrain.

"There will certainly be more landslides, new avalanches, and mudflows," Yun Xiaosun, deputy land and resources minister, warned in a news conference here. "We are still having aftershocks, and then next month is the start of the rainy season."

The grim assessment was based on high-resolution satellite photos provided by the US government this week that show the potential for what are called "secondary geological disasters."

Quakes leave the ground fragile and susceptible to landslides. The biggest danger comes from "barrier lakes," which are formed when a landslide plugs up a river and could easily overflow after a heavy rain or aftershocks.

Chinese geologists who examined the photos detected 34 such lakes. One particularly large one near the town of Beichuan has forced the evacuation of thousands of people living in the potential path.

"These lakes pose a very severe risk," said Liu Yuan, an environmental official with the Land and Resources Ministry.

The area also has many dams, reservoirs, and hydroelectric power plants that have been damaged.

The magnitude 8.0 quake rearranged Sichuan Province's already complicated landscape of rushing rivers, flood-prone valleys and jagged mountains.