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V.Balasubramani
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OverlookedSafety Risks Added to Landslide in China, Reports Say
HONG KONG — As rescuers searched Monday for survivors of a catastrophic landslide in the southern Chinese city ofShenzhen, a series of failures and ignored warnings that contributed to thedisaster began to emerge.
The Ministry of Land and Resources said the landslide thatdestroyed at least 33 buildings on Sunday was caused by the collapse not of ahillside but of a sodden mountain of dirt and construction debris in anindustrial area. At least 91 people were missing as of early Monday, theofficial Xinhua News Agency reported.
Therain-soaked material had built up for nearly two years at the site of a formerquarry, Xinhua said, citing residents there.
China’srapid construction of new buildings, and the short life of many of thosestructures, have long created problems with unregulated dumping ofconstruction waste. Often the result is illegal, multistory piles of debristhat appear on the outskirts of cities, creating problems with dust andflooding because of blocked waterways.
Readmore at: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/22/world/asia/china-landslide-shenzhen.html?_r=0
