The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Mianzhu

Soldiers raced Monday to unblock a river that was dammed by landslides in China's deadly earthquake two weeks ago as flood prevention became a top priority in the disaster zone.

More than 86,000 people are dead or missing following the massive quake on May 12 that destroyed entire towns and villages across an area of mountainous Sichuan province the size of South Korea.

China has had to cope with thousands of aftershocks and a myriad of other potential disasters while trying to provide food, shelter and medical help for the millions of people left homeless. Underlining those dangers, an aftershock measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale shook Sichuan province on Sunday-the strongest since the original 8.0-magnitude tremor-killing at least six people and injuring hundreds. The aftershock also led to the collapse of a further 70,000 homes on top of the nearly six million destroyed two weeks ago. The US Geological Survey, using a different scale, put the quake magnitude at 5.8.

Meanwhile, a lake on the Jian river in devastated Beichuan county that was created by landslides continued to build, raising fears of major flooding downstream if it burst.

State television showed a team of 1,800 Chinese soldiers and police arriving early Monday at the river after a long hike through remote, mountainous terrain. A helicopter was also seen lifting a bulldozer into the area.

The soldiers carried dynamite and had orders to blast away the landslide rubble. Areas immediately downstream had already been evacuated.

With heavy rain forecast for the next three days, the swelling body of water is one of about 35 so-called "quake lakes" that have formed and could cause huge problems if they burst.