Thousands flee Jiangxi floods

Rainstorms are expected across region along the Yangtze River

Thousands of homes were flooded in Poyang county, Jiangxi province, late on Monday after Bintian Reservoir overflowed as torrential rain continued to wreak havoc in South China.

The overflow forced the relocation of 5,600 residents in three villages late on Monday as the floods submerged homes, roads and farmlands, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said in a news statement on Tuesday. No casualties were reported.

The Jiangxi provincial government said on Tuesday that the water is slowly receding. There are still more than 4,000 people mobilized in flood prevention efforts. It added that it could take at least three days to repair the riverbanks.

Hu Guoyi, a villager from Jianyang who was forced to relocate, said the banks overflowed in a matter of hours.

"The water level rose quickly to more than 2 meters and soon submerged the gate of our home," he told China News Service.

After the floods, he and his wife took their two children to stay with relatives and then returned to the village to look after their home.

In Hunan province, a flooded river in Longshan county forced about 18,500 residents to leave an ancient township.

Torrential rains and floods have affected 213,800 residents and forced the relocation of 32,800 people in the province, according to provincial authorities.

In neighboring Guizhou province, rescuers saved more than 150 residents who were stranded after their villages were flooded in Yanhe county. More than 1,500 people were relocated, local media reported.

In Haozhang county, a landslide triggered by the rainfall hit a session of highway linking Bijie and Weining in the province, according to the provincial civil affairs authority.

The National Meteorological Center on Tuesday continued a yellow alert for heavy rain in South China for the next 24 hours. China has a four-tier weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

According to the State forecaster, rainstorms are expected across a vast region along the Yangtze River, including the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui and Hubei.

Some parts of Jiangsu and Anhui will see up to 15 centimeters of rain within 24 hours.

Heavy rain is also expected in Tibet, Yunnan, Sichuan and Chongqing in the southwest and in Heilongjiang in the northeast, according to the forecaster.

Floods triggered by heavy rain have left 22 people dead and 15 others missing in South China since Saturday, according to the authority.

Feng Zhiwei in Changsha, Yang Jun in Guiyang and Liu Kun in Wuhan contributed to this story.

Hero, 2 others die in rescue attempt

About 100,000 people lined the street in the county seat of Liping, Guizhou province, on Monday to bid farewell to Liu Shanping, a grassroots Party chief who lost his life while trying to save two fellow villagers.

In the early hours of June 10, Jiuchao town in Liping was flooded, and Liu, head of Qiuchao village, received a desperate call from Wu Bingzhi, another resident, for help, as Wu and his daughter were stranded in their house by floodwaters.

Liu managed to get near the home, along with 16 other villagers, and planned a daring rescue.

Another resident wanted to help, but Liu told him to stay away because the man was an only son. Liu had a brother who could take care of his own family if he perished in the rescue attempt, Liu told the man.

Liu waded into the rushing water with one end of a rope tied to his waist and the other held by residents. He managed to reach Wu's house and Wu's daughter climbed onto his back.

As he was returning, the flood rose dramatically and washed away the pair, and then Wu. All three died.

Liu's body was discovered on Saturday evening, two days after the bodies of the father and daughter were found. Cremation took place on Monday.

As Liu's body was carried to the cremation, the way was lined by some 100,000 people with banners, calling him a hero, guardian of the village and a good Party chief.

xuwei@chinadaily.com.cn

Firefighters search for people stranded in the floods in Poyang county, Jiangxi province, on Tuesday. Wang Qi / For China Daily