China Deluge: 147 People Die, Two Million Evacuated

In torrential rains in southern China over the past week, as many as 147 people have died and nearly two million were evacuated, said media reports.

“The storms affected 15.33 million people and left 93 residents missing in nine provincial-level regions since June 13,” the Ministry of Civil Affairs was quoted as saying.

The China Daily quoted a ministry official as saying that the deluge destroyed over 178,000 houses and incurred economic losses worth 19.7 billion yuan ($ 2.9 billion), reports said.

The torrents caused flooding which disrupted inter-provincial train services, affected 784,200 hectares of crops and trapped thousands of residents in counties where power supply and transportation were cut off, said reports.

The National Meteorological Centre forecast more thunderstorms in the areas, reports said.

Hunan and Jiangxi provinces were among the worst hit areas.

The provincial flood control office said that eight people were killed and 11 went missing in Hunan, said reports.

According to flood control and drought relief authorities in Jiangxi, seven people were killed among 1.97 affected residents and four countries of the province were flooded over one meter deep, reports said.

The areas also suffered electricity shortage as well as communication breakdowns.

About 3,300 people were still trapped in the floods in Jiangxi’s Yingtan city, said reports citing the local government.

Floods and torrential rain also paralysed roads and railways to and from Yingtan, with trains bound south cancelled or delayed.

About 40,000 passengers were stranded in Shanghai and more than 20,000 people sought ticket refunds after 30 trains were cancelled.

Premier Wen Jiabao visited flood-affected Wuzhou of Guangxi over the weekend and called for better forecasts, alarm systems and emergency response plans to deal with the inclement weather.

(Based on internet reports)