A lake, formed by a landslide that partially blocked the Qinjiang River, is posing a threat to Beichuan County, which has been sealed off since yesterday morning.

The lake's water level has been rising rapidly, putting downstream Beichuan County and Mianyang City at risk of being overwhelmed if the dyke is breached. A village in the upper reaches of the river has already been flooded, according to a China News Service report today.

Beichuan county seat has been sealed off since yesterday morning and rescue workers have all evacuated the area for the time being. 5,000 protective uniforms were dispatched to ensure rescuers' safety.

According to CCTV, one of the mountains around Beichuan was found seeping water, causing rescue work here to be halted for one or two days.

Two checkpoints set up

Police have set up two checkpoints outside Beichuan county seat. The first is about 3 kilometers from the county seat and vehicles carrying passengers without passports are not allowed to pass. The second checkpoint lies 2.5 kilometers from the urban area and has imposed stringent controls stating that even vehicles with passports authorized by Mianyang municipal authorities are prohibited from entering.

Rescuers not allowed to enter

"I don't know what's going on; I'm not allowed to go into the county seat," a rescue worker in charge of epidemic prevention said. "Normally, I can enter freely."

Outside the second checkpoint, some firefighters from Chongqing revealed that they have been evacuated from the urban area. They are all standing by awaiting further orders.

Mr Zhang came to Beichuan to look for his relatives. He said that there was hardly anybody in the urban area of Beichuan on the morning of May 20.

Used protective clothing will be burned

A spokesperson from Beichuan disaster-relief headquarters said yesterday that the headquarters decided to seal off Beichuan county seat and all rescue workers were evacuated in the morning. Two reasons lay behind this decision; first, there are possibilities of strong aftershocks in the area and second, the potential danger of floods caused by lakes bursting their banks has increased.

The spokesperson also denied rumors of any epidemic diseases spreading in Beichuan. He said the situation was stable and that the headquarters had decided to burn all used protective uniforms to ensure absolute safety.

(China.org.cn by Xiang Bin, May 21, 2008)