Some displaced families return home after landslide in northwest

LANZHOU, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Seventy-eight of the 110 families who were displaced because of a deadly landslide in Lanzhou City, northwest China's Gansu Province, returned to their apartments Tuesday.

Da Shiyuan, a property manager in charge of Shixiakou Residential Quarters, confirmed that No. 2 and No. 3 buildings were structurally safe, but part of No. 4 building was destroyed in Saturday's landslide.

In all, 20,000 cubic meters of earth collapsed on No. 4 building burying eight people. Only one survived.

Because of damage, 32 families will not be able to return to those apartments. They are staying in hotel rooms which have been paid for by the government and have been given a daily allowance of 20 yuan (about 2.94 U.S. dollars), according to Yu Chenghui, head of the Chengguan District Government in Lanzhou.

The 78 families living in No. 2 and No. 3 buildings were temporarily displaced because of safety concerns. They returned home Tuesday.

The civil affairs department paid 5,000 yuan in compensation to family members or relatives of the deceased, Yu said.

As of Monday, 2 million yuan and 10 tents had been donated to the victims, said Yu, who added that more money would be needed to finance construction of homes for the 32 families.

Geological workers are monitoring the area around the apartments for signs of another landslide.