China declared victory over an unstable "quake lake" today as floodwaters were released downstream, where hundreds of thousands had been under threat of a second crisis following last month's earthquake.
Waters poured out of the Tangjiashan quake lake, the largest of more than 30 formed by the May 12th earthquake in Sichuan province, after soldiers blasted away rocks, mud and other rubble blocking its path along a sluice.
The muddy brown water swamped low-lying areas in the nearby wrecked town of Beichuan, washing away corpses, family mementoes and valuables along with the rubble.
The toll from last month's 7.9 magnitude quake stands at nearly 87,000 dead or missing, and millions more have been left homeless.
Today's flooding brought more heartache to the displaced. Many said valuables were now lost for good.
"It began flooding early this morning," said shop assistant Zhu Yunhui (37), who lost loved ones in the quake and said she had kept many tens of thousands of yuan in her home. "Now we can never go back. This is heartbreaking."
Damage in Beichuan from the tremor was so extensive that authorities have decided to rebuild the town at a site dozens of kilometres away and to make the original county seat an earthquake memorial.
Sichuan's Communist Party chief Liu Qibao described the quake lake breakthrough as a "decisive victory" after the water level in the dam fell by more than 20 metres, Xinhua news agency said.