China evacuates 190,000 from quake area

Police shouting "evacuate! evacuate!" through loudspeakersfanned out through the town of Youxian on the outskirts ofMianyang city, which was devastated by the May 12 quake.

The entire town appeared empty, with shops shuttered andapartment buildings silent, as officials searched forstragglers in makeshift tarpaulin shelters erected by refugeeson the banks of the Fu River.

Residents of Youxian were ordered to move to higher groundin the hills around the town as hundreds of soldiers dug damsand channels in an effort to reduce pressure on the river andprevent it from overflowing, which could inundate thesurrounding area.

"We don't know how long they'll have to stay up there. Itdepends on the situation with the dam," a local policeofficial, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

The official death toll from the quake is 68,858 and isexpected to rise, with 18,618 people still missing. Officialshave said more than 30 landslide-blocked rivers could burst,flooding downstream towns and tent camps.

(Reporting by Lindsay Beck; Writing by Andrew Torchia)