China evacuates 197,000 as flood risks mount

Police evacuated over 197,000 people living near the epicentre of the May 12 earthquake, Reuters reported on Monday, as hundreds of soldiers dug dams and channels to reduce pressure on the Fu River and prevent it from overflowing.
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Residents of Youxian, on the outskirts of Mianyang city, were ordered to move to higher ground in the hills around the town.

Chinese officials have said more than 30 landslide-blocked rivers could burst, flooding downstream towns and tent camps where survivors of the quake have taken refuge.

A sluice designed to discharge water from the biggest "quake lake" at Tangjiashan, has been completed, state news agency Xinhua quoted Yue Xi, from the People’s Armed Police, as saying. He said the sluice was expected to drain water between Sunday and Tuesday.

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