China to mourn mudslide victims Sunday, flags to be at half-mast

BEIJING - China will fly its national flag at half-mast Sunday in its offices in the country and abroad to mourn the death of over 1,200 people and misery of thousands of others in the wake of a series of mudslides in the country’s northwestern Gansu province.

The Zhouqu county in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture was worst hit, with hundreds dead and missing after mudslides Aug 8.

In line with government decision, flags of the Bureau of International Expositions and Shanghai World Expo will also fly at half-mast, Xinhua reported Saturday.

The expo, which saw about 40 million visitors since its opening in May, has decided to suspend about 100 cultural events Sunday.

Over 1,500 survivors are now living in tents or in schools, while around 8,000 sought shelter in relatives and friends’ houses, the publicity department of Gannan prefecture said.

Meanwhile, water and power supplies, and telecommunication services, are being restored in Zhouqu.

Power supply to 60 percent of households in the county has been restored, while relief teams are digging new wells, the provincial information office said. Donations worth 120.4 million yuan ($17.7 million) were rushed to the province.

Workers are continuing to clear the Bailong river, blocked by debris, amid fears that more rains could trigger new floods and mudslides.

The Gansu Pavilion at the expo will hold a “solemn and simple” ceremony, an official said. Screens at the pavilion will broadcast pictures and videos of disaster relief.

Volunteers at the expo have put stickers on their uniforms with letters “May Heaven Bless Zhouqu”, to draw attention on the plight of the affected people.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has also put up donation boxes in its pavilion at the expo to raise funds for the victims.