Rescuers in quake-hit southwestern China are keeping evacuees（n.撤离者, 被疏散者） safe by cordoning  off  （用警戒线隔离）the streets and setting up checkpoints to prevent them from returning home.

In Mianyang, Sichuan Province, soldiers are particularly cautious, because residential buildings lie in the flood zone of the Tangjiashan barrier lake near the city.

Our reporter Liao Jibo has more.

Reporter:

In Mianyang, evacuees who urgently need to return home must obtain permits from the local government. Even then, they are allowed to stay for only one hour at a time.

Tang Baodong is with Chengdu Military Command, which is conducting the surveillance（n.监视, 监督） work in the city's Fucheng District. He says evacuees will be safer in the tents on higher ground than in their homes.

''There are a few residents coming back because they are worried about their possessions, or they want to fetch some daily necessities. To ensure their safety, we are walking around the district and helping those who come back to leave as soon as possible.''

In higher, safer areas where tents have been set up for evacuees, soldiers are stabilizing the tents and relieving the residents of the added burden of keeping the flimsy structures intact.

Evacuee Lei Guobao expressed his gratitude toward the soldiers.

''The temperature is rising in this season. The soldiers are working for us all day long, and I would like to say thank you to them. ''

So far, more than 210,000 people in Mianyang have been evacuated to avoid the flooding if the Tangjiashan barrier lake bursts over its banks.

Experts say the water is expected to pass through a diversion channel on Thursday, later than previous estimates because there has been no rain in the region for a couple of days.

The lake was formed when the nearby river was blocked by rocks and mud that fell from the mountains during the earthquake.

Liao Jibo, CRI News.