China’s mudslide-hit county crawls back to normalcy

BEIJING - Life is slowly returning to normal in China’s Zhouqu county, where rain-triggered mudslides left at least 1,254 people dead, while 490 are still missing.

The mudslides hit the county in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province Aug 8.

Survivors of the devastating landslides were still trying to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones.

“The mudslide-stricken people have calmed down a lot. At first, people never responded when I asked them to drink or eat. Their instinctive needs were taken away by the sudden tragedy. But now people sometimes will come up to me and ask for bottled water,” a volunteer from Beijing was quoted as saying by China Daily.

Wang Jianghong, a coordinator of the disaster-relief work in Zhouqu, also noted some positive changes in survivors.

“I didn’t hear any loud cries on the street these two days, and the clothes and shoes people wear are much cleaner,” Wang said, adding that the demand for water for purposes other than drinking was, however, still to be met with.

People were being given herbal tea to prevent indigestion in the high temperatures, Zhao Xiaoqing, director of the Zhouqu women and children healthcare centre, said.

To prevent epidemics after the disaster, sterilisation teams are disinfecting all tents, toilets and garbage dumps throughout the day, a team member said.

“Generally speaking, public order is good here, despite some minor conflicts while distributing goods,” said Wang Ningfang, a policeman.

The mudslides took away three family members and buried the house of Han Jianhui, 40, but the catastrophe did not ruin her faith in life.

“The house is gone, but at least we survived,” said Han while comforting her sister whose house was also buried.