By Xinhua,
Chengdu (China) : Authorities are evacuating some 30,000 people from a rural county in southeast China’s quake hit province of Sichuan for fear of possible secondary disasters following the killer May 12 earthquake.
The first group of 3,000 farmers from three townships of the Qingchuan county had been relocated in neighbouring areas, said Li Zhi of the disaster relief office Wednesday
“Up to 30,000 people need to move out. Some places are no longer inhabitable,” county chief Chen Zhengyong said. But it was not clear where the residents would be resettled.
The county is about 200 km northeast of the epicentre of the 8.0 magnitude quake of May 12.
“After a field survey, geologists concluded that no means of livelihood and production were left in those areas after the quake,” Li said, adding that “as a zone at high risk of secondary disasters such as landslides, it is no longer appropriate for people to stay there.”
Nationwide, the worst quake to hit China in three decades killed more than 69,000 people and left millions homeless.