Floods Wreak Havoc

Massive flooding in southern China follows drought in many regions.

2011.06.17
A man tries to salvage belongings from his flood damaged home in Laibin, southwest China's Guangxi province, June 16, 2011.
AFP

Authorities in southern China have evacuated hundreds of thousands of people after days of heavy rain triggered burst riverbanks, widespread flooding, and mudslides in the region.

"Since June 13, the damage caused by the rainstorms has led to ... the emergency evacuation of 671,200 people to safety," China's Ministry of Civil Affairs said in a statement on its website Friday.

Altogether, more than a million people have been evacuated since the rains began, with at least 168 deaths reported, including those from two previous rounds of rains beginning in early June.

Sichuan, Guizhou, and Zhejiang will be hit by further rainstorms at the weekend, according to meteorologists in Beijing.

Beijing's National Meteorological Center called on flood-hit areas to brace for more rain.

"These areas must strengthen their prevention of geological disasters," the National Meteorological Center said in a statement.

'Widespread damage'

The Civil Affairs Ministry said the damage from flooding has been "widespread" across the eastern provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, and Jiangxi, the central province of Hubei, as well as Guangdong and Guangxi in the south and Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guizhou in the southwest.

The damage was heavy in most places, with 40 percent of counties reporting "serious" damage as a result, it said.

The ministry estimated economic losses from the flooding at around 12.8 billion yuan (U.S.$1.9 billion).

The central government has raised the emergency response signal to level 4, the highest possible, sending out rescue teams to worst-hit Zhejiang, Anhui, and Jiangxi, which until mid-June were parched with drought.

Guizhou was first to be hit by severe flooding at the beginning of June, with 37 deaths in Wangmo country alone and 45,000 evacuated residents.

Qiantang river in eastern China rose to a 50-year high this week, with water levels on rivers in Sichuan, Guangxi, and Guangdong also at dangerously high levels, official media reported.

Reported by Luisetta Mudie.

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