Death Toll in China Mudslide Hits 1,117

Source: Wall Street Journal By Brian Spegele

BEIJING—The official death toll from a massive mudslide in northwest China rose to 1,117 on Wednesday, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported, with 627 people still missing, as questions continue to rise about what role environmental degradation may have played in triggering the disaster.

China's National Meteorological Center said there was a "relatively large" chance that more mudslides would occur in the coming days, the Associated Press reported.

The official toll rose from 702 on Tuesday as more bodies were recovered, but rescue teams' efforts to locate survivors were becoming increasingly grim four days after the landslide early Sunday morning.

As rescue efforts continue and with rebuilding efforts on the horizon, questions are increasingly focused on what caused the disaster.

It appeared government officials are beginning to acknowledge that overdevelopment may have contributed to the disaster, even as they cautioned that the investigation into the causes of the slide was still in its early stages and stressed that rains had been unusually heavy before the collapse.

Jiao Yong, deputy vice minister of the Ministry of Water Resources, said that in the future there should be a greater effort to make sure that development is "in harmony with nature."

Experts overseas have been more explicit in linking overdevelopment with the disaster. "This all shows that the law of nature has to be respected and the government should realize if they do not take the ecosystem seriously, then it will eventually cost more in the end," said environmentalist Wen Bo, a senior fellow with U.S.-based Pacific Environment.

Chinese officials also drew attention to natural causes. "A lingering drought lasting almost nine months in some local areas and the 2008 earthquake that might have loosened the mountainside and caused some cracks are also reasons behind the devastating mudslide," said Tao Qingfa, deputy director of the Department of Geological Environment of Ministry of Land and Resources, according to the AP.