At 4 p.m. Thursday, Tan issued a No. 1 order demanding that about 200,000 people living downstream from Tangjiashan in the main urban districts of Mianyang should start evacuation by 8 a.m. Saturday. The evacuation must be completed by 8 a.m. Sunday.

Two other plans require the relocation of 1.2 million people if the half of the lake volume was released, or 1.3 million if the whole landslide blockage is washed away.

On Saturday night, the downtown Mianyang city appeared deserted, with shops shuttered and several streets cordoned off. Sandbags were stacked at the doors of houses and buildings along the projected flood path to prevent watering from getting in.

The evacuees, mainly members of the water and electricity section of the People's Armed Police Force, prepare to board on the helicopter at the dam site of quake-induced Tangjiashan Lake in southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 31, 2008. The first group of 15 earthquake relief workers handling the Tangjiashan quake-formed lake in China's Sichuan Province boarded a helicopter at 8:35 a.m. Saturday and were evacuated from the dam site. [Xinhua] 

Residents who have not so far evacuated were put through evacuation drills in the past week. They were informed that flood warnings will be communicated through signal shots and sirens.

The 8.0-magnitude tremor, which has claimed 68,977 lives as of Saturday, left 34 quake lakes in its aftermath, of which 28 threaten to burst.

Hu Yun, deputy director of the Sichuan provincial water resources department, said the danger at the quake lakes would be defused by June 10.

(Xinhua News Agency June 1, 2008)