Relief Efforts

Social order in mudslide-hit Zhouqu stable

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-12 19:16

ZHOUQU - Social order in mudslide-flattened Zhouqu County in Northwest China's Gansu province is stable as local police, fire fighters and armed forces make an all out effort to ensure public safety.

Zhu Shouke, an official in Gansu's public security office, said Thursday police will launch 24-hour patrols in the area to maintain order.

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Relief supplies' storage sites, as well as shops and houses, will be protected from looting, Zhu said.

Authorities have ordered police to be patient in work keeping social order.

Further, local fire-control officers have trained people how to use fire extinguishers, official Chen Xingfa said Thursday.

Chen warned "the consequences would be serious if the tents concentrated together caught fire."

Local armed police are ensuring the smooth flow of vehicles along roads to and from the county.

At around 4:00 am Thursday morning, armed police found the main road into Zhouqu county, State Road 313, had been blocked by landslides after rain.

A 25-strong team used loaders and vehicles to clear the road of 2,600 cubic meters of rock and mud. The operation took six hours.

As of Wednesday, the death toll from the mudslides had risen to 1,117 and 627 were still missing.