Qi Guofang, an official with the information department of Wuhai, said more than 4,000 people from five villages devastated by the ice flood last Tuesday have now been settled in safe areas.

"The local government rented 200 houses in urban areas for people made homeless to live in," Qi said, adding that the remainder were staying with their relatives.

Financial support was forthcoming through a local government subsidy of 200 yuan (US$24) each. A total of 977 students whose school was destroyed in the disaster have been given the green light to continue their studies in urban schools.

Wuhai was put on immediate alert on Tuesday after melted chunks of ice driven by strong winds eroded dams along the Yellow River in about 15 minutes. An evacuation of city suburbs was swift and all people managed to reach safety before the chilly waves washed away buildings.

Qi admitted ice floods have probably happened every year in the past but not on such a large scale and repair work was carried out quickly. But this year, high temperatures in the region thawed the ice layers in the upper reaches of the Wuhai section of the Yellow River faster than anticipated.

Qi said the local government was unlikely to repair the damaged embankment this winter because of high reconstruction costs. "The five destroyed villages will not be restored given the huge repair costs, and the local government will probably build new ones for them at safer locations this spring," Qi said.

Wuhai has received a 2 million yuan (US$240,000) donation from the Beijing municipal government and the Beijing Red Cross Society. Qi said most of this would be used for helping those made homeless.

The Wuhai section of the Yellow River embankment does not enjoy State investment, so the local government and government of the autonomous region will have to set up the construction fund themselves.

(China Daily January 15, 2002)