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        May 28, 2008

(CNN Student News) -- May 28, 2008 Quick Guide Quake Lake Threat - Hear how a so-called "quake lake" is threatening China's Sichuan province. CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: It's time to get going with a brand new broadcast of CNN Student News. Thanks for spending part of your day with us. I'm Carl Azuz. First Up: Quake Lake Threat AZUZ: We're starting things off in China, where so-called "quake lakes" are forcing evacuations in Sichuan province. That's the region where this month's deadly earthquake occurred. We told you yesterday how the tremors caused landslides that dammed up a river, creating one of these lakes. Well, the water's rising about six feet a day, and officials are worried that the dam could give way, causing major flooding. Hugh Riminton looks at the impact on the area's residents. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HUGH RIMINTON, CNN REPORTER: Once again, in the earthquake zone, there are people setting up tents, anything they can find; camping out in the open. These, in many cases are the new homeless. It's all down to this new threat: the "quake lakes," and particularly one of them, the largest. The water has backed up to the depth of nearly half a mile, more than 725 meters deep. That is the water now that has amassed behind a fundamentally unstable rock wall. The big fear by the Chinese authorities is that the dam will burst and send a catastrophic wall of water sweeping downstream. They made a precautionary order a few hours ago telling 158,000 people to evacuate to higher ground by midnight. That deadline has now passed. People are crowding to any bare space they can find along the side of waterways, under trees, anywhere that takes them away from the river. The further addition to the fears and anxieties in the area: two further strong aftershocks that took place in the last few hours; one 5.4 magnitude, the other 5.7. Meanwhile, the attempts to reduce the dangers on this rock wall continue. There are soldiers with explosives; they've also brought in bulldozers to try to clear a slipway. They've had some success with that already, draining away some of the water, relieving some of the pressure behind this wall. But they certainly do not believe it is safe yet. There are plans potentially for the evacuation of well over 1 million people. Hugh Riminton, CNN, Chengdu, China. (END VIDEO CLIP)

  
  

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