Many towns have been almost entirely destroyed
Hours after President Hu Jintao visited Beichuan in north-east Sichuan province, residents have fled as aftershock brought fresh landslides. On Friday President Hu talked to victims caught up in Monday’s quake and offerd reassurance that the government would do all it could [Xinhua]. But only hours later rock and mud was sent crashing down hillsides towards villages already devastated by the 7.9 earthquake. Throughout the morning there had been rumours that a dam was about to burst. Water levels have risen over the past few days with heavy rain hitting many parts of the province. This has put further pressure on many dams said to be damaged. Sky News reported that many had fled to the hills over fears that rivers were going to burst their banks. Members of the public, army troops and rescue workers evacuated the area. Later many gradually returned, but valuable hours had been wasted and it is time that is running out for those who may still be alive in the rubble of thousands of fallen buildings [CNN / BBC].
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