By Chris Buckley
BEIJING (Reuters) - Thousands of victims of China'searthquake are moving to escape a new threat fromrain-triggered landslides, officials said on Monday, whilefloods battered the nation's southern trade powerhouse.
The May 12 quake centred in the southwest province ofSichuan killed at least 70,000 people and shattered slopes inthe mountainous region, parts of which have seen heavyrainfall.
With continued tremors jolting hillsides, officials havedecided to relocate 50,000 residents at risk of landslides inWenchuan County, the epicentre of the quake.
"Continued tremors and multiple strong tremors haveconstantly caused shore collapses and mudslides on fragileslopes in Wenchuan County, and damaged houses have constantlycollapsed in the tremors," the Xinhua news agency reported.
Last week, county officials told threatened residents tomove to safer areas, and troops had relocated 3,000 by Monday,Xinhua reported. All at risk must be moved by the end of June,before the rainy season starts in earnest.
An earlier state television report said 70,000 quakevictims would be moved to avoid the landslide threat. TheXinhua report did not explain the discrepancy.
FLOOD MENACE
Already reeling from the quake, China has also sufferedfloods across its south that have killed 57 people and forced1.27 million to move to safer ground in recent days, accordingto the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The national meteorological service warned that the5,500-km (3,400-mile) Yellow River flowing through the northmight also see "quite large" floods this year, Xinhua reportedlate on Sunday.
Heavy rain likely in the next few days would "increase thedestructiveness of flood hazards and make the flood preventionand relief situation nationwide even more serious", Xinhuacited the authority as warning.
The Yellow River, China's second longest after the Yangtze,has experienced devastating floods in the past, but in recentdecades has been more prone to water scarcity.
This year's floods have been especially heavy in Guangdong,the far southern province that is home to many of the country'sexport businesses.
By Sunday, 20 people in Guangdong had died in the floods,eight were missing, and more than 4,800 houses had collapsed,provincial flood officials told Xinhua.
Close to 240,000 Guangdong residents were shifted to saferground, including 60,000 in Shenzhen, the trade hub next toHong Kong, the provincial water resources office said,according to the official Southern Daily.
Officials estimated that economic damage from the floodsacross Guangdong amounted to 3.8 billion yuan ($540 million),much of it to farms and fisheries.
Forecasters warned that fresh storms could also lash partsof the Yangtze River delta region, a major manufacturing centrenear Shanghai, and parts of provinces across the east, southand southwest.
Storms also recently brought havoc to Hong Kong, where theysparked flooding and landslides and resulted in closed roadsand delayed flights.
The flooding and foul weather is the latest in a string ofdisasters to befall China this year. Many of the same provinceswere paralysed by freak cold weather in January and February.
(Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Nick Macfie andRoger Crabb)
