Death and destruction in the rain
By Yang Jian |
May 15, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Torrential rain has left almost 100 people killed or missing across the country over the past few days, including four children who lost their lives when a wall collapsed in central China yesterday.
Six elementary school students were on their way to school in Hengyang County, Hunan Province, at 7:30am when the wall of Huishui Middle School suddenly collapsed and buried them, city officials said.
Two were killed instantly while another two died in hospital. The other two are in a serious condition.
The storms that have been ravaging central and southern China and other areas over the past few days have left 69 people dead and at least 25 others missing. Houses have been damaged or destroyed and many towns and cities have been flooded.
Rescue workers were yesterday still looking for six people missing after a bridge collapsed on Sunday in Hunan Province.
"The stone arch bridge had no quality problems according to primary investigation and would not have collapsed if the sand dredger had not hit it," said Mao Shuainan, Pingjiang County's traffic chief.
The Fangu Bridge, which connects two townships in Pingjiang, collapsed at around 8:50am after one of its piers was hit by a sand dredger flushed downstream by floods. At least nine people fell into river. Three were rescued. An elderly couple, their two granddaughters and another relative were among the missing.
Media reports questioned why no steel bar could be seen in the debris, but Mao said the bridge's geometric arch structure did not need such support.
The bridge had been closed since Saturday morning because of heavy rain which had led to the collapse of 3,500 homes in the county, Xinhua news agency said. However, some villagers continued to use it despite warning.
Hunan was one of the worst-hit regions over the weekend, with 2.91 million people affected. Direct losses amounted to 2.9 billion yuan (US$455.4 million), according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.
About 172,000 residents threatened by rainstorms in the province have been relocated.
Massive mudslides
The Ministry of Finance has allocated 20 million yuan to help relief work in Gansu Province where the death toll from massive mudslides triggered by heavy last Thursday has risen to 53, with 18 others missing.
The funds will be used for disaster relief and restoration of destroyed water conservancy facilities, the ministry said.
In Sichuan Province, eight people were killed in a flood and mudslide triggered by a storm that had affected about 500,000 people and led to the relocation of 23,000 residents.
More than 2,100 houses had been destroyed and more 28,500 hectares of farmland flooded, with a direct economic loss of 130 million yuan.
In Jiangxi Province, the water in some rivers rose above warning levels. In Shicheng City, 84 houses were destroyed and more than 1,500 hectares of cropland inundated. Local authorities have evacuated more than 3,000 people.
In south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, four people have died and one was missing as of yesterday.
Several cities, including the regional capital city of Nanning, issued their first red alerts for torrential rain this year.
The downpours affected more than 70,000 residents in seven cities and 16 affiliated counties in Guangxi, damaging over 450 homes and forcing the evacuation of 1,576 people. Also damaged by the rain were 3,370 hectares of crops.
Heavy rainstorms are expected to hit Fujian and Guangdong provinces today and tomorrow.
Six elementary school students were on their way to school in Hengyang County, Hunan Province, at 7:30am when the wall of Huishui Middle School suddenly collapsed and buried them, city officials said.
Two were killed instantly while another two died in hospital. The other two are in a serious condition.
The storms that have been ravaging central and southern China and other areas over the past few days have left 69 people dead and at least 25 others missing. Houses have been damaged or destroyed and many towns and cities have been flooded.
Rescue workers were yesterday still looking for six people missing after a bridge collapsed on Sunday in Hunan Province.
"The stone arch bridge had no quality problems according to primary investigation and would not have collapsed if the sand dredger had not hit it," said Mao Shuainan, Pingjiang County's traffic chief.
The Fangu Bridge, which connects two townships in Pingjiang, collapsed at around 8:50am after one of its piers was hit by a sand dredger flushed downstream by floods. At least nine people fell into river. Three were rescued. An elderly couple, their two granddaughters and another relative were among the missing.
Media reports questioned why no steel bar could be seen in the debris, but Mao said the bridge's geometric arch structure did not need such support.
The bridge had been closed since Saturday morning because of heavy rain which had led to the collapse of 3,500 homes in the county, Xinhua news agency said. However, some villagers continued to use it despite warning.
Hunan was one of the worst-hit regions over the weekend, with 2.91 million people affected. Direct losses amounted to 2.9 billion yuan (US$455.4 million), according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.
About 172,000 residents threatened by rainstorms in the province have been relocated.
Massive mudslides
The Ministry of Finance has allocated 20 million yuan to help relief work in Gansu Province where the death toll from massive mudslides triggered by heavy last Thursday has risen to 53, with 18 others missing.
The funds will be used for disaster relief and restoration of destroyed water conservancy facilities, the ministry said.
In Sichuan Province, eight people were killed in a flood and mudslide triggered by a storm that had affected about 500,000 people and led to the relocation of 23,000 residents.
More than 2,100 houses had been destroyed and more 28,500 hectares of farmland flooded, with a direct economic loss of 130 million yuan.
In Jiangxi Province, the water in some rivers rose above warning levels. In Shicheng City, 84 houses were destroyed and more than 1,500 hectares of cropland inundated. Local authorities have evacuated more than 3,000 people.
In south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, four people have died and one was missing as of yesterday.
Several cities, including the regional capital city of Nanning, issued their first red alerts for torrential rain this year.
The downpours affected more than 70,000 residents in seven cities and 16 affiliated counties in Guangxi, damaging over 450 homes and forcing the evacuation of 1,576 people. Also damaged by the rain were 3,370 hectares of crops.
Heavy rainstorms are expected to hit Fujian and Guangdong provinces today and tomorrow.
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