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June 22, 2010

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Rain, floods kill 175

Persistent rain and floods in 10 regions of south China had left 175 dead and 107 missing by yesterday, according to the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The floods, the worst for 50 years in some regions, have affected 25 million people and 1.36 million hectares of farmland. They have caused the collapse of 144,000 houses and the evacuation of 1.71 million people.

Economic losses have reached 29.7 billion yuan (US$4.4 billion).

Officials said water levels in Poyang and Dongting lakes continue to rise, but are still below danger levels. However, all 26 rivers in Jiangxi Province have passed the danger level.

Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei has asked local authorities to closely monitor the situation.

The National Meteorological Center yesterday lowered its rainstorm alert from orange to blue, the lowest level, for the country's southern regions as the storms weaken.

The orange alert means that in the last three hours, the precipitation reached 50 mm and the rain could continue, while the blue alert means that in the last 12 hours, the precipitation reached 50 mm and the rain could continue.

Torrential rains will pound northern parts of Fujian Province through today, the NMC forecast.

The worst-hit provinces and regions were Jiangxi, Fujian, Hunan and Guangxi.

More than 900,000 people have been affected by the rains in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region since Saturday.

About 800 villagers were evacuated from Li'ao Village, Nandan County in the autonomous region, after being trapped for three days. The continuous rain since last Thursday caused floods and landslides.

"We are not that afraid and nervous now because the daily necessities are available," said a resident of the village.

The severe floods in Jiangxi Province are worse than those of 1998, according to the provincial flood control department.

As of 8pm Sunday, almost 5 million people and 364,000 hectares of crops had been affected. The flood had left 180,000 people trapped.

In central China's Hunan Province, 10 villages and towns in Suining County have become "isolated islands," where rain had cut transport and telecommunications.

Rescue teams had been sent to the flood-hit areas and more than 6,800 trapped residents had been rescued, local officials said yesterday. Another 80,000 people were evacuated safely.

Another 1,000 people, including 300 students, who had been trapped in Heyuan City, Guangdong Province, were rescued late yesterday, local authorities said.





 

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