Workers have finished clearing debris that nearly blocked a river running through landslide-devastated Zhouqu County in northwest China's Gansu Province, three months after the disaster caused a 1.8-km long blockage across the river.
After more than 730,000 cubic meters of debris was removed, the water level of the Bailong River returned to normal, Zhang Fumin, director of the debris-removal work, said Saturday.
Zhang said the work was completed 55 days ahead of schedule and that authorities will now focus on reconstructing the river's embankments.
The landslide in Zhouqu on Aug. 8 left 1,510 dead and 255 missing.
The Chinese government said in October it will spend 1 billion yuan (150.2 million U.S. dollars) to prevent geological disasters in the region, after it dispatched a team of 210 experts to identify geological hazards in Zhouqu in September.
