(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-30 17:03

The Tangjiashan quake lake formed by the landslide following the May 12 earthquake near Beichuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province is seen on Monday, May 26, 2008. Chinese officials rushed Tuesday to evacuate people in the path of potential floodwaters building up behind a quake-spawned dam as soldiers carved a channel to try to drain away the threat. [Xinhua]

MIANYANG, Sichuan -- Up to 1.3 million people in west China's Sichuan Province have been ordered to evacuate to higher grounds for fear of a major "quake lake" burst as a result of flooding and strong aftershocks.

Tan Li, Party Secretary of Mianyang City and also chief of Mianyang City Quake Control and Relief Headquarters, on Friday issued an order that 1.3 million people living downstream Tangjiashan, a swelling quake-induced lake, must evacuate to higher grounds marked by government bodies.

On Thursday, more than 110,000 people were already evacuated. In several towns in Mianyang where people have been evacuated, soldiers cordoned off the streets and set up checkpoints to prevent residents from returning home. Those who do have to return have to obtain permits from the local governments and are allowed to stay no more than an hour.

The quake lake was formed after the May 12 earthquake as rocks and mud blocked a river. By 4 pm on Thursday, the water level was 745.5 meters at its highest point before the debris blockage, about 22.78 meters from the lowest barrier.

Mianyang City has a population of about 5 million people and the residents who are threatened by flood risk have been put through evacuation drills in the last few days.

More than 600 rescuers worked through heavy rain on Thursday to dig a diversion channel on one of the most dangerous lakes in China's quake-hit Sichuan Province.

Soldiers and water resources professionals worked non-stop around the Tangjiashan "quake lake" despite heavy downpours that started about 10 pm on Wednesday.

Helicopters that carried fuel, food and building equipment to Tangjiashan were grounded at a nearby town before the rain stopped around midday on Thursday.

A total of 46 engineering vehicles, including excavators and bulldozers, have been airlifted to Tangjiashan. Currently, more than 70,000 cubic meters of rock and mud have been removed, said Liu Ning, the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) chief engineer.

Soldiers also cleared an emergency retreat path on Thursday in case the water rises quickly, Liu said.

Helicopters, flying at intervals of less than 10 minutes, brought 30 tons of gasoline for the machinery on Thursday afternoon. About 1,000 soldiers were on standby in a nearby town to carry the fuel to Tangjiashan if the rain hampers flights again.

Toll Still Rises

And the death toll in China's major earthquake increased by about 340 to 68,858 as of Friday noon, the Information Office of the State Council said Friday in Beijing.

Another 366,586 people were counted as injured and 18,618 listed as missing in the 8.0-magnitude quake that jolted southwestern Sichuan Province on May 12.

A total of 45.55 million people were affected by quake, of whom,15.15 million were relocated, according to the office.