Perilous Times and Climate Change
China struggles to cope with deadly summer storms, landslides and floods
The Associated Press
Thursday, August 19, 2010; 8:53 AM
BEIJING -- China struggled to cope with widespread storms that left
dozens missing and presumed dead Thursday as rescuers cleaned up a
mudslide-stricken town, while two passenger train cars plunged into a
river after crossing a flood-damaged bridge.
Rescue workers found four bodies in Puladi township of southwest
China's Yunnan province, a day after a wall of mud crashed through the
mountain community, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Rains
expected over the next few days would likely hamper efforts to find 88
people still listed as missing.
It was just the latest landslide to strike China in a summer that has
been plagued by deadly rains and flooding. The worst recent landslide
was on Aug. 8 in Zhouqu of Gansu province, where nearly 1,300 were
killed and more than 400 people remain missing.
In southwestern China, authorities managed to evacuate all passengers
from two train cars that dangled for several minutes over a muddy,
rushing river before falling into the water.
The train was traveling in Guanghan city of Sichuan province when it
began shaking and then stopped moving, dining car supervisor Wang
Baoning told China Central Television. Floodwaters had loosened piers
on the Shitingjiang bridge, Xinhua said.
The two cars were hanging over the water in a "V" shape, but were still
connected to the adjacent carriages, Wang said. It took more than 10
minutes to evacuate passengers from the cars, he said.
"Less than two minutes later, one carriage fell into the river. About
10 minutes after that, the other one fell in too," he said. There were
no fatalities.
The train cars were swept a short distance downstream and were almost
completely submerged, trapped against the base of another bridge, CCTV
footage showed.
The train was traveling from Xi'an in northwestern Shaanxi province to
Kunming in southwestern Yunnan province.
Floods and landslides across China in recent months that have left
hundreds dead and washed away settlements in some parts of the country.
The storms have caused tens of billions of dollars in damage.