China braces for more floods as heavy rains predicted

Survivors of the landslides in north-western China are braced for further misery as forecasters predict more heavy rains.

At least 702 people died when mud and debris swept through Zhouqu, in Gansu province, late on Saturday night and 1,042 are missing. There is little hope of finding more survivors among what are thought to be the hundreds who were buried alive in metres of sludge.

The 10,000 rescue and relief workers are continuing to search for bodies but attention is turning to the threat of disease.

Crews in protective suits have sprayed chemical disinfectant across the ground and over machinery. State media has reported numerous cases of dysentery and warned of a serious shortage of drinking water, with most local sources destroyed or polluted.

One survivor, Yang Jianjie, gave a graphic description of the moment landslides engulfed the county seat. He stood hand in hand with his parents and grandfather on the roof of their home as the tide of mud swept towards them – only to be separated as the two-storey building collapsed.

"Mud and rocks slammed my parents and grandfather in the face and buried them," the 20-year-old told the China Daily newspaper.

The Bailong river burst its banks, sending water coursing through the narrow valley.

Shen Si watched as troops dug at the site of her buried home to reach the bodies of her relatives. "My mother and father were in their 60s and my younger brothers, all three of them, are buried here in our house still," she said.

Torrential rains on Saturday night triggered the landslide and flooding. Experts have said 2008's earthquake in neighbouring Sichuan loosened rock faces. But government reports show that officials had been warning for years that deforestation and rapid hydro development were increasing the risk of landslips in the area.

"This has happened before. The government knew it could happen again and did nothing to prevent it," said a farmer called Yang, who did not want to give his full name. Five of his relatives were buried in the mudslide and he was digging to find them.

There are concerns the barrier lake that has formed could overflow or burst, especially if there is further rain. Soldiers have been blasting explosives at the barrier to clear debris and help reduce water levels. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated.

Separately, a Chinese paper reported that residents along the north bank of the Yellow river in Henan province fear for their lives after heavy rain gouged holes in a newly built flood control dam.

"Every time when we hear the rain is coming we are too scared to sleep in the evening," a party secretary from one village was quoted as saying in Dahe Daily.

Wang Dayong, head of the Yellow River Affairs Bureau of Yuanyang, acknowledged the dam had been damaged but told the Global Times reports were exaggerated and the structure was strong enough.