Jilin counts tragic cost of floods
Source: Xinhua |
August 4, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Floods have left 74 people dead and 71 missing in northeast China's Jilin Province over the past two months, Jilin's civil affairs department said yesterday.
Since June, torrential rains have disrupted the lives of nearly 4.6 million people in the province, forcing the evacuation of more than 784,000 people, the department said.
More than 64,000 houses collapsed and 265,000 others were damaged while more than 1.25 million hectares of farmland had been covered in water, local officials said.
Direct economic losses are estimated at 26.4 billion yuan (US$3.9 billion).
In Tonghua, among the worst-hit cities in the province, workers are rushing to repair flood-damaged water pipelines. The city was among the hardest-hit by floods, according to Zhu Qiwen, deputy head of the provincial weather bureau.
No deadline has been given as to when the pipelines will be fixed to resume water supplies to more than 300,000 residents who last night had been without tap water for more than 70 hours.
However, temporary supply pipelines were expected to have been set up by late last night, the city government said.
City authorities have purchased 1.5 million bottles of mineral water for residents and ordered 25 fire trucks to deliver water for other household needs.
The city government has also ordered vegetables from neighboring Liaoning Province to ensure local supplies.
In north China's Hebei Province, rainstorms killed four people and forced the evacuation of 1,147 people during the weekend, the provincial civil affairs department said yesterday.
Heavy rainfalls have also ravaged parts of northwest China over the past week, where rain-triggered disasters killed 14 people and left seven others missing.
Vice Premier Hui Liangyu has urged local authorities to keep flood casualties and losses to a minimum during an inspection of flood-affected Shaanxi Province over the past two days.
The northwestern province has lost more than 100 people to floods during the past month. More than 160 others remain missing.
However, flooding may worsen in parts of China as more downpours are forecast to hit northeastern Jilin and Liaoning provinces and the western Gansu and Sichuan provinces over the next three days.
Weather experts said the new round of downpours, due to start last night, would peter out by tomorrow.
Yesterday, major reservoirs in Jilin were discharging water in preparation for the new downpours, according to the provincial flood-control and drought-relief headquarters.
It said a breach and a leaky section of the embankment were being monitored along the swollen Songhua River in Songyuan City and Nongan County. No casualties have been reported.
Meanwhile, an accumulation of tree branches, weeds and junk has formed a layer on the surface of a waterway in Jilin, blocking the flow of water under a bridge and threatening a downstream dam. The accumulation covers an area of 15,000 square meters and is up to one meter thick in places. It is located near the Yunfeng Dam in Baishan City.
Workers are racing to clear the accumulation amid fears the jammed bridge might collapse if another flood hits before the accumulation is removed.
"We have collected 40 trucks of the trash, but the remaining trash might fill another 200 trucks," said Wang Yong, a police officer in charge of the clean-up operation.
It may take another five days to finish clearing the waterway on the upper reaches of the Yalu River, Wang said.
He said the Yunfeng Dam is operating at full capacity to avoid overflowing, with 5,000 cubic meters of water per second flowing through its five flood gates.
Officials fear if the bridge collapses, the debris and the accumulation might flow downstream to the dam and block its flood gates.
Since June, torrential rains have disrupted the lives of nearly 4.6 million people in the province, forcing the evacuation of more than 784,000 people, the department said.
More than 64,000 houses collapsed and 265,000 others were damaged while more than 1.25 million hectares of farmland had been covered in water, local officials said.
Direct economic losses are estimated at 26.4 billion yuan (US$3.9 billion).
In Tonghua, among the worst-hit cities in the province, workers are rushing to repair flood-damaged water pipelines. The city was among the hardest-hit by floods, according to Zhu Qiwen, deputy head of the provincial weather bureau.
No deadline has been given as to when the pipelines will be fixed to resume water supplies to more than 300,000 residents who last night had been without tap water for more than 70 hours.
However, temporary supply pipelines were expected to have been set up by late last night, the city government said.
City authorities have purchased 1.5 million bottles of mineral water for residents and ordered 25 fire trucks to deliver water for other household needs.
The city government has also ordered vegetables from neighboring Liaoning Province to ensure local supplies.
In north China's Hebei Province, rainstorms killed four people and forced the evacuation of 1,147 people during the weekend, the provincial civil affairs department said yesterday.
Heavy rainfalls have also ravaged parts of northwest China over the past week, where rain-triggered disasters killed 14 people and left seven others missing.
Vice Premier Hui Liangyu has urged local authorities to keep flood casualties and losses to a minimum during an inspection of flood-affected Shaanxi Province over the past two days.
The northwestern province has lost more than 100 people to floods during the past month. More than 160 others remain missing.
However, flooding may worsen in parts of China as more downpours are forecast to hit northeastern Jilin and Liaoning provinces and the western Gansu and Sichuan provinces over the next three days.
Weather experts said the new round of downpours, due to start last night, would peter out by tomorrow.
Yesterday, major reservoirs in Jilin were discharging water in preparation for the new downpours, according to the provincial flood-control and drought-relief headquarters.
It said a breach and a leaky section of the embankment were being monitored along the swollen Songhua River in Songyuan City and Nongan County. No casualties have been reported.
Meanwhile, an accumulation of tree branches, weeds and junk has formed a layer on the surface of a waterway in Jilin, blocking the flow of water under a bridge and threatening a downstream dam. The accumulation covers an area of 15,000 square meters and is up to one meter thick in places. It is located near the Yunfeng Dam in Baishan City.
Workers are racing to clear the accumulation amid fears the jammed bridge might collapse if another flood hits before the accumulation is removed.
"We have collected 40 trucks of the trash, but the remaining trash might fill another 200 trucks," said Wang Yong, a police officer in charge of the clean-up operation.
It may take another five days to finish clearing the waterway on the upper reaches of the Yalu River, Wang said.
He said the Yunfeng Dam is operating at full capacity to avoid overflowing, with 5,000 cubic meters of water per second flowing through its five flood gates.
Officials fear if the bridge collapses, the debris and the accumulation might flow downstream to the dam and block its flood gates.
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