Nation & World

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Do you have a news tip? newstips@heraldnet.com | 425.339.3400   Published: Thursday, May 15, 2008 Cracked dam latest concern in China Associated Press HANWANG, China -- Soldiers rushed to shore up a dam cracked by this week's powerful earthquake, and rescuers came by helicopter and ship Wednesday into the isolated epicenter but still were forced to dig for survivors with their bare hands. Nearly 26,000 people were still buried in collapsed buildings from Monday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake, and the death toll of almost 15,000 was expected to climb as relief operations spread into the mountains of Sichuan province. The quake triggered landslides that blocked roads to hardest-hit areas. Even as the rescue effort seemed to gather momentum -- speeded by clearing weather after two days of rain -- caring for tens of thousands of people made homeless across the disaster zone have stretched thin the government's resources. Homeless victims begged for aid on roadsides, and people settled in for a third night in a growing sprawl of refugee camps littered with garbage. In Hanwang, a town in one of the hardest-hit counties, survivors stood hoping for handouts from cars, jostling with each other to reach to one vehicle where a passenger passed bottled water out the window. The official death toll rose Wednesday to 14,866, and in Sichuan province another 25,788 people were buried and 1,405 were missing, provincial vice governor Li Chengyun said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Xinhua said about 2,000 soldiers were sent to repair "extremely dangerous" cracks in the Zipingpu Dam upriver from the earthquake-hit city of Dujiangyan. The government said late Wednesday that experts had inspected the dam and declared it safe, according to a statement broadcast on state TV and posted on the Sichuan province's government Web site. Still, another report said the reservoir behind the dam was being emptied to relieve pressure on the structure. Help also began to arrive by helicopter and on foot in some of the hardest-to-reach areas, where some victims trapped for more than two days under collapsed buildings were still being pulled out alive. Leveled hospitals forced doctors and nurses to treat survivors in the street. Helicopters dropped food and medicine to isolated towns.

1. Boeing Machinists vote to strike; union leaders say wait 2. Grim task of investigating Skagit County killings 3. 2 Lake Stevens schools in lockdown 4. Marysville-Pilchuck out of lockdown; man arrested nearby 5. New Glacier Peak High School dubbed 'pretty rad' 6. Boeing Machinists’ strike deferred 7. County Council says it was denied access to budget 8. Lockdown lifted at Lake Stevens schools 9. Don't miss out on settlement's payout 10. Couple's roadside lunch interrupted by attempted burglary 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Ferry lane grows one-mile longer • Bringing the world to Edmonds • FEMA turns to media to improve public image • Annexation's frustrations • A run for Charlotte • Annexation's frustrations • Minimalist food bars have local flavor • E-W aims for fifth straight league title • Wildcats moving forward • Leisure Time Events - September 2008 • September 2008 • State needs to establish north county campus to meet growing technology ... • Future software programs may be based online • Visit two unusual Paine Field aviation museums for historic and futurist ... • Mothers launch Kids ‘N’ Clay pottery studio to provide children with cre ... • AWB elections Web site debuts • Construction begins on Korry Electronics’ plant