Heavy rains led to a landslide in Baokang County, Central China's Hubei Province, on Saturday, forcing 155 people of 37 families to evacuate their homes and causing a two-day suspension of local traffic movement.

When the landslide occurred, the local government quickly dispatched a work team to the afflicted area. Three surveillance sites were set up on the huge landslip mass, part of which had caused the landslide. The team worked around the clock and sent hourly reports from the site of the landslide.

Local police stepped up their efforts in ensuring that the working units and their staff members did not fall victim to the landslide.

The heavy rains caused subsidence and mud-rock flows and destroyed the highway links between Baokang and the neighbouring cities. Many buses, vehicles and travellers were stranded in the county.

In order to get traffic back on the move, the local government deployed a lot of manpower and equipment. Now the traffic from Baokang to Xiangfan and Gucheng has returned to normal, said an official from the Bureau of Land and Resources of Xiangfan.

(China Daily August 24, 2005)