Mud-rock flows and landslides left an average 1,036 people dead
or missing in China each year from 1995 to 2006, a Chinese
scientist said on Monday.
Fu Bojie, chief of the environment and resource bureau with the
Chinese Academy of Sciences, said landslides and mu-rock flows left
12,428 dead or missing in China during the 12-year period.
Around 74 million people in 1,583 counties or cities were
threatened by landslides and mud-rock flows, said Fu at the Fourth
International Conference on Debris-Flow Hazards Mitigation, which
began on Monday in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern Sichuan
province.
More than 100 debris flow-prone areas have been effectively
treated across China, protecting the lives of more than 100,000
people, said Deng Wei, director of the CAS Mountain Hazards and
Environment Institute.
The four-day conference attracted 130 debris-flow researchers
from 19 countries who gathered to discuss the treatment and
prevention of disasters.
(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2007)