China quake memorial reopens after flooding

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A memorial to victims of the 2008 earthquake that hit southwest China has reopened after the worst flooding in 50 years submerged and destroyed part of the site.

People are free to visit the ruins of the 2008 earthquake-devastated former county seat of Beichuan again from Thursday following more than a month of repairs, according to the management center of the memorial.

Repairs and sludge clearing started on July 14, after engineers and cultural relics protection experts surveyed the area and established a restoration program.

More than 200 armed police; workers from the center; and 40 excavators and loaders, were mobilized for the work.

Many days of heavy rain battered the area from June, leaving most of the ruins, including the cemetery of the earthquake victims, submerged.

The 27-sq-km site is in the former county seat of Beichuan in the Jianjiang River ravine.

The river overflowed in June, leaving some areas under seven meters of water.

The 2008 quake in Sichuan Province left 90,000 people dead or missing and the former county seat of Beichuan was completely destroyed. Rather than rebuilding the town, central and local governments relocated survivors and built a new Beichuan town, preserving the old town as a lasting memorial for survivors to mourn the deceased.

• Chinese gov't increases funding for fighting flooding

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