China: China to spend $328 million to improve disaster prevention systems

Source: Xinhua News Agency - China plans to spend 2.23 billion yuan (328 million U.S. dollars) to improve disaster prevention systems in a mountainous northwest China town devastated by a landslide earlier this month, local officials said Tuesday.

The planned multi-billion yuan project to prevent further geological disasters in Zhouqu County, south of Gansu Province, had passed reviews by experts from the Ministry of Land and Resources, said Guo Yuhu, vice-director of the provincial land and resources department.

The plan is scheduled to be carried out in three phases from 2010 to 2012, Guo said.

Guo noted that the project includes improving disaster warning systems, drawing up emergency resettlement plans, conducting a thorough study of the geological disaster hazards, and setting up a capable monitoring network.

A late-night avalanche of mud and rocks roared down the mountain slopes in the county seat of Zhouqu on Aug. 8, burying villages and blocking the Bailong River, a major regional river.

At least 1,447 people were killed and 318 remain missing, according to the latest government information.

The mudslide left a thick layer of sludge, about 5 kilometer long and 500 meters wide, in the center of the town. Many bodies are believed to be buried in the mud, but authorities banned their recovery on Sunday due to concerns over public health.

Zhouqu has been frequently hit by earthquakes, landslides and mud flows, but geological experts and residents blamed the sloppy construction of mudslide barriers, lack of adequate monitoring and warning systems, and rapid urban development as causes of the catastrophe.