Steps have been taken to reduce the risks of "quake lakes" - formed by landslides that blocked rivers - before the rainy season starts or further aftershocks, officials said yesterday.
"There are 34 such lakes in the disaster-hit region. The quake lake in Beichuan county is the most dangerous," said Yin Yueping, deputy chief engineer of China Geological Survey.
The lake was formed because a massive landslide partially blocked the Qianjiang River upstream of the devastated Beichuan county seat. It is 40 m deep and contains about 30-40 million cu m of water.
Yin said people living downstream of the quake lake in Beichuan have already been evacuated.
Zhu Bing, deputy head of the water resources authority in Sichuan, said yesterday that the province has been closely monitoring such lakes and formulated emergency response plans, including evacuating people to safer places and blasting or digging of sluices to discharge the water.
Experts warned that further aftershocks and rainy weather next month could lead to formation of more quake lakes.
Liu Yuan, deputy head of the geological environment department of the Ministry of Land and Resources, said the water levels of some quake lakes had risen, threatening vast areas.
In 1933, three newly-formed lakes burst their banks 45 days after an earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale struck Diexi in western Sichuan in August.
The Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Water Resources have sent experts to check and assess the condition of the lakes.
Questions:
1. How many quake lakes are there in the region?
2. How deep is the new lake north of Beichuan that was formed when a landslide blocked the Qianjiang River?
3. How many lakes burst their banks a month and a half after an earthquake in 1933?
Answers:
1. 34.
2. 40 meters.
3. Three.
（英语点津 Helen 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Jonathan Stewart is a media and journalism expert from the United States with four years of experience as a writer and instructor. He accepted a foreign expert position with chinadaily.com.cn in June 2007 following the completion of his Master of Arts degree in International Relations and Comparative Politics.
