The water level of the Tangjiashan barrier lake in Beichuan County dropped by nearly 3 meters on Monday. But it's still the biggest in the region and continues to pose a huge risk.

Mianyang City has made plans to evacuate residents downstream of Tangjiashan lake in case it bursts. Mianyang relief and rescue headquarters says that if one third of the dam bursts, they will evacuate 160,000 residents. If half of it is damaged, they will evacuate 1.2 million residents. And if it's totally damaged, they will evacuate 1.3 million residents.

Experts say the lake poses no major risks for the next ten days. But ten days is also the deadline for these armed police to clear away the landslide barriers.

To remove the risk of flooding, 1,800 armed police arrived on foot in Tangjiashan on Monday, each carrying 10 kilograms of explosives. The idea is to blast through the debris and clear away the blockage that keeps the water level dangerously high.

Thousands of people who had remained in the area after the quake have been evacuated as a precaution.

With the weather clearing, heavy equipment is being air-lifted into the area to help remove the debris.

Experts also proposed a water diversion channel to drain the lake.

But thunderstorms have been forecast for parts of Sichuan for late Monday and Tuesday. This is likely to swell the lake further. Heavy rainfall is also likely to put more pressure on dams and reservoirs weakened by the quake.

(CCTV May 27, 2008)