Traffic to mudslides-hit NW China county resumes
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Debris which had been blocking major roads leading to the mudslides-hit Zhouqu County in northwest China's Gansu Province have been cleared, said local authorities Sunday afternoon.
The roads in the outskirts of Zhouqu County had reopened after they were blocked by the devastating mudslides that hit the county in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture around midnight Sunday, said Zhao Qinghe, chief engineer with the provincial administration bureau of highways.
Workers were struggling to repair the roads in the county seat of Chengguan Township, as the operations had been hindered by the flood water, as deep as four meters, on the streets, Zhao said.
He estimated that the main roads leading to the county's government buildings would be reopened Monday.
The roads leading in and out of the county were reopened by 12:30 p.m. Sunday, but there was still a risk of sporadic landslides and falling stones smashing into automobiles traveling along the roads, said He Jianzhong, spokesperson with the Ministry of Transport.
Local road repair workers will work round the clock to make the roads smooth again, He said.
The ministry has launched an emergency response in the wake of the disaster. Li Shenglin, Minister of Transport, arrived at the affected areas Sunday morning with a group of experts.
The ministry has allocated 20 million yuan (2.95 million U.S. dollars) to help reopen the roads in the affected areas, said Feng Zhenglin, Deputy Minister of Transport.
By 4:14 p.m., power supplies which had been cut after the mudslides hit, were resumed in some parts of Zhouqu County.
Heavy downpours triggered landslides and mud-rock flows in Zhouqu early Sunday morning. The disaster has left at least 127 people dead and some 2,000 others missing by 4 p.m. Sunday, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
