The quake lake was formed when the May 12 earthquake triggered landslides and blocked a river. The lake, which holds nearly 200 million cubic meters of water, threatened to burst through the loose blockage and flood millions of people downstream.
The water level of the lake, which had been rising about 1.6 meters daily, was seven meters from the lowest point of the blockage, Liu said.
More than 10 tons of dynamite carried to the blockage by soldiers trekking mountains have been earlier taken back, so was surplus fuel and garbage, to avoid environmental pollution.
It is expected that the rising water will run over the blockage and continue its trip through the man-made canal. According to Liu, this may happen between June 1-5.
More than 600 armed police have been working around the clock over the last six days on the canal cut out on the blockage.
By Saturday night, more than 340 soldiers and engineers have left Tangjiashan, officials said.
The remaining 300 people will stay through Saturday night, and most of them would leave by Sunday noon, said Zhou Xiangjun, an armed police officer. About 20 soldiers would stay at Tangjiashan to monitor the situation, he said.
On Saturday, the soldiers left in helicopters and some left on foot.
It takes 40 minutes to reach the airport in Mianyang and six to seven hours by foot. Evacuees have to cross two mountains if they choose to walk out, he said.
At 4 p.m. Thursday, Tan issued a No. 1 order demanding that about 200,000 people living downstream from Tangjiashan in the main urban districts of Mianyang should start evacuation by 8 a.m. Saturday. The evacuation must be completed by 8 a.m. Sunday.
Two other plans require the relocation of 1.2 million people if the half of the lake volume was released, or 1.3 million if the whole landslide blockage is washed away.
Residents who have not so far evacuated were put through evacuation drills in the past week. They were informed that flood warnings will be communicated through signal shots and sirens.
June 2 Special Report
