More flood misery in China as mudslides trap thousands

Daniel Schearf in Voice of America: Fresh rains in western China have caused more flooding and mudslides, adding at least 20 people to a death toll well over 1,000 in Gansu Province alone. In addition, more than 10,000 people in the province are trapped in rising flood waters. Rescue workers have already been sent to the affected areas and more rains are expected in the coming days.

Torrential rains in China's Gansu, Sichuan, and Shaanxi provinces added further misery to areas already hit by disaster. State media says downpours from Wednesday caused further flooding and mudslides that destroyed homes, crops, and cut off roads and communications. Rescue workers led by China's military, known as the People's Liberation Army, have been sent to the areas to clear roads, search for dozens of missing, and bring in emergency supplies.


At a press briefing Friday Colonel Li Haiyang, director of the PLA's emergency office, said they would do their best to help those trapped by the floods. He says the PLA soldiers will go to the affected area as soon as possible to address the difficulties of the population. He says they will do their utmost to minimize the loss of lives and damage to property. More than 6,000 soldiers and emergency workers are still cleaning up damage from a mass of mudslides Sunday in Gansu province's Zhouqu county….