2010-04-25 21:49

LHASA -- Torrential rain has battered southeastern Tibet Autonomous Region since Thursday, triggering landslides and cutting telecommunications links, local authorities said Sunday.

Landslides and mud-and-rock flow cut off road traffic and caused other problems in the county, but there were no reports of any human casualties so far, said Peng Cong'en, secretary of the Zayu County Committee of the Communist Party of China.

"The rain is still pouring down, and the damaged road is not being repaired right away since more slips are likely," said Peng.

Communication links were also damaged, leaving the county with only one satellite phone to connect with the outside world, Peng said.

Zayu County had so far recorded 321.8 mm rainfall in April, the biggest amount for the month in history, according to the regional meteorological bureau, which also forecast more rain in the area in the coming four days.

Zayu, a county of 27,000, is located in southeastern Tibet, 960 km from the regional capital Lhasa.