Mountain ice melts, causes flash flood in N China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-07 21:10

HOHHOT -- More than 4,000 people were affected by flash flooding in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after ice on the surrounding mountains melted with the rising temperature, local authorities said Tuesday.

A total of 1,163 households and 4,134 residents in Arxan City have been affected as of Tuesday morning, said Gao Chen, vice commander-in-chief of the city's flood control and drought relief headquarters.

"The flood, the worst in the past 38 years in Arxan, has caused an economic loss of 47 million yuan (US$6.8 million)," he added.

Arxan, with a population of 56,000, is vulnerable to flooding every spring when ice on the surrounding mountains melts.

The flooding began to hit the Arxan city proper last Thursday and more than 260 residents had been relocated as of Tuesday.

Gao said the flooding was also attributed to the city's lagging infrastructure and poor underground drainage system.

The local meteorological observatory warned that the flooding would worsen with the rising temperature.