Floods ravage south and east provinces By Liang Chao, Zheng Caixiong and Li Dapeng in Fuzhou (China Daily) Updated: 2005-06-23 00:29
Raging rivers swollen by torrential rains over the past few days have wreaked
havoc in southern and eastern China, leaving a trail of death and destruction in
their wake.
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Local residents evacuate with their belongings from a flooded area
in Wuzhou city, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, June
22, 2005. [newsphoto] | Guangdong, Fujian and
Guangxi are the worst affected with a death toll of at least 80 reported by last
night, with 35 people missing, hundreds of thousands evacuated and millions
affected.
There was also extensive damage to property and crops, the Ministry of Civil
Affairs reported last night.
The "water levels of the Xijiang River in Guangxi and Minjiang River in
Fujian kept rising relentlessly," said a report released by the State
Flood-Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
By late evening yesterday, "the worst flood on record was seen on the
Mengjiang, a tributary of Xijiang River," a source with national flood-control
authorities said. The Xijiang itself is a tributary of the Pearl River.
Guangxi
At least 32 people were confirmed dead and 23 missing, according to
local authorities.
Continuous flooding affected 5.72 million people in the autonomous region and
333,000 people have been moved to safer places.
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Local residents evacuate
from a flooded area in Wuzhou city, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region, June 22, 2005. [newsphoto]
| More than 20,000 residents were evacuated from
low-lying areas in the eastern parts of Wuzhou, an industrial city along the
Xijiang, before floodwaters burst through the banks.
The water level at Wuzhou reached 26.08 metres by 2:00 pm yesterday, 8.78
metres higher than the danger level; and was rising by 10 centimetres per hour,
according to local media.
The central and northern parts of Guangxi have been hit by heavy rains since
June 18, with the water level in many local rivers exceeding the danger mark.
Figures from local authorities show that flooding caused an economic loss of
1.67 billion yuan (US$201 million), damaged 328,000 hectares of crops and
toppled more than 20,000 houses.
Fujian
Floods and landslides have killed 12 and five are missing. In
Shunchang county in northern Fujian, five people were buried alive and three are
missing in dozens of landslides.
About 1.59 million people in 34 counties in five cities -- Nanping, Sanming,
Ningde, Fuzhou and Longyan -- were affected; and 317,00 relocated to safety.
By yesterday afternoon, the water level at Zhuqi, a hydrographic station
along downstream Minjiang, reached 11.48 metres, about 1.7 metres higher than
the warning level, and was flowing at a record 25,000 cubic metres per second.
However, no further damage was reported from the Minjiang region.
Guangdong
At least 36 people have been killed and 10 others are missing. About
25,000 people at risk from flooding waters have been moved to safety.
More than 540,000 have been affected, according to the Guangdong Provincial
Bureau of Water Conservancy.
The cities of Heyuan, Shaoguan, Huizhou and Zhaoqing were the hardest hit.
More than 22,000 houses were destroyed or damaged and swathes of cropland
were flooded. Sections of highways, river dykes and bridges were breached by the
flood, one of the worst seen in many years.
Thousands of passengers were stranded or delayed at Guangzhou Baiyun
International Airport; and more than 20,000 were delayed at railway stations in
four cities after the Guangdong Section of the Beijing-Kowloon Railway was
destroyed by landslides.
Meteorologists warned in Beijing yesterday that "extensive torrential rains
will continue in southeastern parts of South China and areas south of the
Yangtze River until Friday."
Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday urged local officials to fulfill their duties
and make safety a priority of their flood-control and disaster relief measures
as deluges have claimed hundreds of lives over the past days.
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