Deadly southern China rains displace millions
Source: Xinhua/Shanghai Daily |
June 23, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Torrential rains burst a dike in east China, sending 88,000 people fleeing their homes and prompting China's top leaders to call yesterday for stepped-up rescue operations.
Floodwaters breached the Changkai levee on the Fuhe River in Jiangxi Province on Monday night, forcing residents to flee their homes in the nearby city of Fuzhou. No casualties have been reported.
Storms have pounded provinces south of the Yangtze River for more than a week, killing at least 199 people, with 123 still missing, as landslides have cut off transportation, and rivers and reservoirs have overflowed. In some places, floodwaters reached nearly to the second story of buildings, while in others only the tops of trees were visible.
Soldiers unloaded stacks of rowboats as they raced to rescue stranded residents, many of whom were standing helplessly on balconies.
China Central Television reported that some 88,000 people have been displaced.
Army and volunteer rescue teams have been working around the clock near Fuzhou to sandbag vulnerable areas.
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao called on rescuers to work hard to control the flood, according to the Jiangxi Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
Hu also ordered 800 soldiers from the Nanjing Military Zone to help with the rescue work in Fuzhou.
The dike at the Changkai section of the Fuhe River burst at 6:30pm on Monday. The opening in the dike had expanded to 400 meters at around 7am yesterday.
About 12,000 people living in low-lying areas or dangerous buildings were still awaiting evacuation as of noon yesterday, said Wu Xinxiong, the provincial governor.
The provincial flood headquarters has established 15 relocation areas, which can accommodate up to 30,000 people.
Authorities in Fuzhou City have set up 17 makeshift shelters at stadiums and local schools for flood victims.
The provincial government has mobilized more than 10,000 soldiers and civilians for rescue and relief work.
According to Jiangxi's civil affairs department, people in the affected areas were desperately in need of tents and food, but transport of relief materials had been delayed because parts of the road linking Fuzhou with the provincial capital of Nanchang were badly flooded.
The provincial government sent 800 boxes of disinfectant and eight trucks of bottled water and instant noodles.
More than 29 million people in 10 provincial areas - Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan and Guizhou - have been affected by the weather, with 2.4 million of them being evacuated.
More than 1.6 million hectares of farmland have been flooded.
Floodwaters breached the Changkai levee on the Fuhe River in Jiangxi Province on Monday night, forcing residents to flee their homes in the nearby city of Fuzhou. No casualties have been reported.
Storms have pounded provinces south of the Yangtze River for more than a week, killing at least 199 people, with 123 still missing, as landslides have cut off transportation, and rivers and reservoirs have overflowed. In some places, floodwaters reached nearly to the second story of buildings, while in others only the tops of trees were visible.
Soldiers unloaded stacks of rowboats as they raced to rescue stranded residents, many of whom were standing helplessly on balconies.
China Central Television reported that some 88,000 people have been displaced.
Army and volunteer rescue teams have been working around the clock near Fuzhou to sandbag vulnerable areas.
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao called on rescuers to work hard to control the flood, according to the Jiangxi Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
Hu also ordered 800 soldiers from the Nanjing Military Zone to help with the rescue work in Fuzhou.
The dike at the Changkai section of the Fuhe River burst at 6:30pm on Monday. The opening in the dike had expanded to 400 meters at around 7am yesterday.
About 12,000 people living in low-lying areas or dangerous buildings were still awaiting evacuation as of noon yesterday, said Wu Xinxiong, the provincial governor.
The provincial flood headquarters has established 15 relocation areas, which can accommodate up to 30,000 people.
Authorities in Fuzhou City have set up 17 makeshift shelters at stadiums and local schools for flood victims.
The provincial government has mobilized more than 10,000 soldiers and civilians for rescue and relief work.
According to Jiangxi's civil affairs department, people in the affected areas were desperately in need of tents and food, but transport of relief materials had been delayed because parts of the road linking Fuzhou with the provincial capital of Nanchang were badly flooded.
The provincial government sent 800 boxes of disinfectant and eight trucks of bottled water and instant noodles.
More than 29 million people in 10 provincial areas - Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan and Guizhou - have been affected by the weather, with 2.4 million of them being evacuated.
More than 1.6 million hectares of farmland have been flooded.
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