Landslide-hit town in Tibet builds new road for disaster relief

LHASA -- A new road has been built to transport disaster relief supplies to a township in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region after it was struck by a landslide Thursday morning that caused the formation of a barrier lake, local authorities said Monday.

Construction of the road started Friday after part of the only road to Bolo township in Jomda county was submerged by the barrier lake.

Spanning eight kilometers on a pasture at an altitude of over 4,000 meters, the new road enables vehicles with large quantities of relief supplies to enter the disaster-hit township.

Before its completion, disaster relief supplies were transported in small quantities to the township by ships.

Local authorities said Sunday that the water level of the barrier lake had returned to normal, but the safety of the old road could not be guaranteed.

By Friday afternoon, more than 21,000 people had been relocated. No casualties have been reported so far. Some 7,000 tents, 30,000 cotton-padded coats, 50,000 quilts and 5,000 folding beds were sent to the landslide-affected area to help residents, China's Ministry of Emergency Management said Saturday.