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China Flood Warnings Cause Stampede

Posted May 17, 08 6:59 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Rescue efforts in Beichuan, near the epicenter of China’s earthquake, turned to chaos today as fear of flooding caused a stampede of thousands, the BBC reports. A flood warning was issued after a landslide-blocked river threatened to burst its banks, CNN reports. “Everybody just ran. People who were in the process of being rescued had to be left behind,” said a BBC correspondent.

The panic occurred after the Qingzhu river, blocked by landslides after Monday’s earthquake, created a pair of fast-rising lakes whose banks threatened to burst, leading officials to order the evacuation of 10 downstream communities. The official death toll reached 28,881 today, with 198,347 injured;  two men, one of them a German tourist, were pulled to safety after more than 110 hours buried beneath the rubble.

Sources BBC, CNN

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Earthquake survivors carrying their belongings evacuate to higher ground from the center of earthquake-hit Beichuan County, China, Saturday, May 17, 2008.   (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Rescuers search for earthquake survivors in Beichuan county, southwest China's Sichuan province, China, Saturday, May 17, 2008.   (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Residents run as they evacuate to higher ground from the center of earthquake-hit in Beichuan county, southwest China's Sichuan province, China, Saturday, May 17, 2008.   (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Soldiers help residents as they evacuate to higher ground from the center of earthquake-hit Beichuan County, southwest China's Sichuan province, Saturday, May 17, 2008.   (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Soldiers carry an injured woman as they evacuate to higher ground from the center of earthquake-hit in Beichuan county, southwest China's Sichuan province, China, Saturday, May 17, 2008.   (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Residents and soldiers evacuate to higher ground near the epicenter of Monday's quake in Beichuan County, southwest China's Sichuan province, Saturday, May 17, 2008.   (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Soldiers evacuate to higher ground near the epicenter of Monday's quake in Beichuan County, southwest China's Sichuan province, Saturday, May 17, 2008.   (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Thousands of residents and soldiers evacuate to higher ground from the center of earthquake-hit Beichuan county, southwest China's Sichuan province Saturday, May 17, 2008.   (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Children cover their noses while evacuating the disaster area in Beichuan county, southwest China's Sichuan province, Saturday, May 17, 2008.   (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
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China  • flood  • China earthquake  • evacuation  • landslide  • stampede


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