Deluge death totals 132 in South China
Monday, 21 June 2010
BEIJING, June 20 (Agencies): The summer deluge triggered by rain in China has killed 132 people and forced 860,000 to flee their homes as more storms were expected, the government said Sunday.
Another 86 people are missing and more than 10 million people have been affected since torrential rains pounded China's southern part in the past week, including those who have been injured, stranded or have suffered property losses, according to the state media.
"There will be heavy rain over the next three days, and flood-control work will face enormous challenges," the National Meteorological Centre said in a statement.
Chinese officials figured, the economic losses from the disaster, which has ravaged eight provinces across southern China and affected more than 10 million people, could hit US$2.1 billion.
China sustains major flooding annually along the mighty Yangtze and other major rivers, but this year's floods have been especially heavy, spreading across nine provinces and regions in the south and along the eastern coast.
The official Xinhua news agency reported that in Fujian province alone, 12 people had died in a landslide while seven had been rescued.
The storms have triggered landslides that swept away 31 people in Fujian, left the picturesque city of Guilin thigh-deep in muddy water and inundated 1.2 million acres of cropland, says China Daily.
Waters have surged passed safe levels in dozens of rivers, including the Pearl River in the heart of China's industrial powerhouse of Guangdong. The strong storms have collapsed reservoirs, overflowed rivers, caused landslide and power outages and damaged highways.
Throughout the week, the storms have wrecked havoc on travel throughout the country, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and stranding thousands of passengers at airports as far away as Beijing.
The torrential rain has also disrupted dozens of train services to the affected regions, with 18 services from Shanghai suspended Saturday, leaving 20,000 passengers stranded, state media said.
Television images on the state broadcaster showed rescue workers tossing ropes across an angry river to help those stranded on the other side and other workers using a dinghy to ferry a group of kindergartners to safety.
The National Meteorological Centre warned Sunday of more rainstorms to come, two days after it issued an orange storm alert -- just one level lower than the nation's most serious red alert.
"The scope and intensity of the rain have increased," it said in a statement on its website.
"In parts of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Henan, Guangxi and other areas of the south, the rainfall will be 100-180 millimetres. In other parts, the rainfall will be more than 200 millimetres."
Another 86 people are missing and more than 10 million people have been affected since torrential rains pounded China's southern part in the past week, including those who have been injured, stranded or have suffered property losses, according to the state media.
"There will be heavy rain over the next three days, and flood-control work will face enormous challenges," the National Meteorological Centre said in a statement.
Chinese officials figured, the economic losses from the disaster, which has ravaged eight provinces across southern China and affected more than 10 million people, could hit US$2.1 billion.
China sustains major flooding annually along the mighty Yangtze and other major rivers, but this year's floods have been especially heavy, spreading across nine provinces and regions in the south and along the eastern coast.
The official Xinhua news agency reported that in Fujian province alone, 12 people had died in a landslide while seven had been rescued.
The storms have triggered landslides that swept away 31 people in Fujian, left the picturesque city of Guilin thigh-deep in muddy water and inundated 1.2 million acres of cropland, says China Daily.
Waters have surged passed safe levels in dozens of rivers, including the Pearl River in the heart of China's industrial powerhouse of Guangdong. The strong storms have collapsed reservoirs, overflowed rivers, caused landslide and power outages and damaged highways.
Throughout the week, the storms have wrecked havoc on travel throughout the country, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and stranding thousands of passengers at airports as far away as Beijing.
The torrential rain has also disrupted dozens of train services to the affected regions, with 18 services from Shanghai suspended Saturday, leaving 20,000 passengers stranded, state media said.
Television images on the state broadcaster showed rescue workers tossing ropes across an angry river to help those stranded on the other side and other workers using a dinghy to ferry a group of kindergartners to safety.
The National Meteorological Centre warned Sunday of more rainstorms to come, two days after it issued an orange storm alert -- just one level lower than the nation's most serious red alert.
"The scope and intensity of the rain have increased," it said in a statement on its website.
"In parts of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Henan, Guangxi and other areas of the south, the rainfall will be 100-180 millimetres. In other parts, the rainfall will be more than 200 millimetres."