Floods
since June 28 in eastern and southwestern China triggered by
torrential rains have killed at least 72 and caused billions of
yuan worth of damage, according to local governments yesterday.
In Sichuan
Province, the rains that started almost two weeks ago have
led to the deaths of 72 people across 89 counties with 30 others
still missing.
Almost 9.2 million people in the province have been
affected and direct economic losses so far stand at 4.9 billion
yuan (US$492 million).
Farmers in Dazhou City are facing harvest failure
after the inundation of 122,667 hectares of farmland. Total losses
for the city's agriculture industry were estimated at 1.3 billion
yuan (US$157 million), according to the disaster relief office of
Sichuan's provincial government.
In east China's Anhui
Province, the deluges resulted in economic losses of 400
million yuan (US$48 million), local government officials said
yesterday.
More than 400,000 hectares of farmland in 20
counties have been inundated since the downpours hit the province
last Monday, said Xiao Luan, an official from the provincial
department of water resources.
"So far, no casualties have been reported, but the
floods have ruined more than 1,400 houses in flood-prone areas,
leaving thousands of people homeless," Xiao said.
Riverwater levels at Xixian County Hydrologic
Station on the Huaihe River reached 42.92 meters at 8 AM yesterday,
1.42 meters above the flood warning threshold.
The Huaihe cuts across China between the Yellow and
Yangtze rivers and areas along it are historically prone to floods
and droughts.
According to the China Central Meteorological
Observatory, rains in the flood-hit areas along the Huaihe should
let up from today.
Besides Anhui and Sichuan, Henan,
Jiangsu
and Hubei
provinces are also suffering floods.
Two power stations under construction in Zhuxi
County in Hubei were reported inundated on Sunday.
The same day, Vice Premier Hui
Liangyu urged local governments to adopt measures to control
surging floods along the Huaihe.
(China Daily July 12, 2005)