Freak weather kills 5, lessens drought in N. China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-21 16:07

BEIJING: Five people have died in freak weather accidents in North China's Hebei province during the past week, authorities confirmed Friday.

The five include two killed by lightning strikes and one killed by a falling structure in Chengde, a popular summer resort in Hebei. The other two were killed by falling structures in Baoding, said a source from the Hebei Provincial Department of Civil Affairs. No further details were available.

Twenty-six counties, cities and urban districts in the province were hit by hailstorms, strong winds and torrential rains from August 15 to August 18, which, apart from the five deaths, destroyed 36,500 hectares of cropland and caused 176 million yuan ($25.9 million) in economic losses.

Heavy rainfall in north China from August 15 through to August 19 has partly alleviated drought in the region, said the national Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Northeast China's Liaoning province registered a rainfall of 46.7 millimeters from Monday to Thursday thanks to cloud seeding operations carried out on Monday and Wednesday.

However, the drought situation in Liaoning remains serious, the office said.

In the province, 743,900 people and 319,100 heads of livestock are still suffering from drinking water shortages. Eighty-five reservoirs have dried up and 20,795 wells are not providing adequate water.

In Shanxi province, a rainfall of 20.2 millimeters was registeredfrom August 15 to August 19. The rainfall lessened the drought conditions, the province's office of Flood Control and Drought Relief said .

Shanxi received further rain Thursday night and it would continue to rain province-wide until Sunday, said the local weather observatory.

The office said the drought in Shanxi is still serious, with 780,000 hectares of cropland still parched. Drinking water shortages affect 670,000 people and 160,000 heads of stock. Large and medium-sized reservoirs in Shanxi now retain 536 million cubic meters of water, 40 million cubic meters less than last year.

Nationally, at midday Thursday, 10.1 million hectares of croplands were suffering from drought, 600,000 hectares more on average than in previous years. Drinking water shortages are affecting 4.19 million people and 4.52 million heads of livestock.

The national State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters Thursday convened a meeting to discuss measures to combat drought across China.