Way out

"We dare not to live in our house any more. What should we do in case of heavy rainfall, or another disaster?" said Pan Jinbi,a resident who had moved to their relatives for temporary shelter.

Zhaotong's Mayor Liu Jianhua said the 138 households threatened by potential landslides in the Zhaojiagou area would be relocated to relatively safe places.

"It is not easy to find a place for reconstruction as most of the places in Zhaotong feature high, steep mountains. But difficulties must be overcome," Liu said.

Minister of Land and Resources Xu Shaoshi said at a recent meeting for land and resources work nationwide highlighted the strengthening of geological disaster prevention and treatment with measures like surveying, monitoring, forewarning and relocation.

"Many places in mountainous Yunnan and Guizhou provinces are not suitable for human inhabitation... We urgently expect the government to increase investment. Relocation is the best choice," said a netizen on the local microblogging service in Yunnan.

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